More than two years ago, in March 2018, the WHO released its priority diseases list, which included the mysterious Disease X. Back then, the virologists imagined the possibility of the emergence of an unknown virus that might trigger a new pandemic. Over a couple of years have passed since then, and we have to face the new coronavirus, SARS-Cov-2, which causes COVID-19 and caused the death of more than 212,000 people worldwide.
The coronavirus spreading ways are still peculiar, and scientists are struggling to provide a clear explanation in that regard. But the WHO has already pictured the possibility of a new virus that could affect the globe.
More and more reports came out arguing that the new pandemic is the so-called Disease X. Even though the arguments in that direction are scarce at the moment, and the WHO looks like keeping the silence over the subject, to some extent, the link between the two is palpable — for some, it is clear.
Back in 2018, the World’s Health Organization stated that, sometime in the future, an unknown virus might hit the world, and we should be prepared for it. Unfortunately, the WHO seems like falling behind its plans to tackle the pandemic.
The New Coronavirus and Disease X — The WHO and World’s Most Capable Virologists Are Not Up To Address SARS-CoV-2 Yet
“It may seem strange to be adding an ‘X,’ but the point is to make sure we prepare and plan flexibly in terms of vaccines and diagnostic tests,” said, in 2018, John-Arne Rottingen from the WHO. At that time, the scientists were already aware the next global pandemic would be due to a virus emerging from animal sources. Simply put, similar to the new coronavirus.
Even more, the Disease X would spread silently as the specialists confuse it with another illness. As we already know, SARS-CoV-2 emerges with symptoms similar to influenza, including fever, sore throat, and, also, respiratory difficulties (more specifically, pneumonia-like ones), just like the primary and most deadly complications caused by the flu virus.
Although the scientists imagined the coming of such a troublesome pandemic, they’re still baffled and have no clue on how to treat COVID-19. There is still no vaccine, even though many virology teams around the Earth are already testing a possible vaccination against the virus.
In conclusion, there is a plausible connection between the novel coronavirus and the WHO’s imagined Disease X, a virus that can cause a global crisis. On the dark side, the WHO, despite its continuous struggle to fight SARS-CoV-2, is falling behind its 2-year-old plans of tackling a possible unknown outbreak. But, we shouldn’t be blaming them, though.
