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| - Last Updated on January 23, 2024 by Aditi Gangal
Quick Take
A video on social media claims that Disease X is deadly. The post claims that WHO claims disease X is 20 times more fatal than COVID-19. We found the claim is misleading and is Half True. While Disease X is currently just an estimate. WHO uses this term to estimate the severity or emergence of potential future outbreaks.
The Claim
An Instagram post claims that a recent World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting occurred to discuss Disease X. This meeting has confirmed that Disease X is 20 times more fatal than COVID-19.
We have attached a screenshot of the post below:
In another fact check, we debunked that the U.S. Measles outbreak is disease X.
Fact Check
Is Disease X 20 times more fatal than COVID-19?
Not exactly. There is no evidence to confirm that Disease X is 20 times more fatal than COVID-19. Moreover, there is no disease by the name of disease X. Even in the recent WEF meeting global experts discussed potential innovative measures required to ready healthcare systems for the various challenges ahead, considering the WHO’s ongoing research on the potential of the so-called Disease X.
Disease X is a placeholder term used by the World Health Organization (WHO) for a hypothetical, unknown future pandemic pathogen. It represents a disease that could emerge from any number of sources, including animal viruses, new strains of existing viruses, or even entirely new types of pathogens. This means Disease X is not a real sickness we know about, so we ca not say if it is deadly or not. Therefore, we do not have any actual data on the fatality rate of Disease X, as it does not yet exist. However, it is often speculated that Disease X could be significantly more deadly than COVID-19. If it ever happens, how bad it is will depend on things like how fast it spreads, how strong it is, the treatments available, and how well we can protect ourselves.
It is essential to understand that as of now, disease X is just an estimate. There is no guarantee that it will actually be that deadly, or even that it will emerge at all. It is important to stay informed about emerging infectious diseases, but it is also important to avoid unnecessary panic.
In an article titled ‘WHO to identify pathogens that could cause future outbreaks and pandemics’ published on the WHO’s website, Dr. Michael Ryan, the Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, emphasized that targeting priority pathogens and virus families for research and the development of countermeasures is essential for a rapid and effective epidemic and pandemic response. He stated that without significant research and development investments before the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of safe and effective vaccines in record time would not have been possible.
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