New Delhi: After Covid-19 and monkeypox, the United Kingdom, which has seen a spate of infections over the years, could see another infection that could lead to another pandemic. According to a report in the Telegraph, experts in Britain have warned of another emerging pandemic and asked officials to step up preparedness and strengthen health infrastructure. This new disease is called disease X. The warnings about ‘Disease X’ by health experts came in the wake of poliovirus being detected in sewage samples in London, Reuters had reported. However, UK health authorities have not yet found any cases of polio that have caused paralysis in children. The UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA) said the risk was low due to high vaccination coverage.
“We are passing through a new pandemic zone,” The Mirror reported, adding that ‘disease X’ could be just around the corner, with medical experts saying.
What is X disease?
According to the World Health Organization, “Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international pandemic may be caused by a pathogen that is currently unknown to cause human disease.” In simple words a hypothetical and as yet unknown pathogen that can trigger an endemic or epidemic.
Multiple infections seen in UK
Previously, the H5 bird flu lineage was detected in a human in January this year, and three cases of Lassa fever were reported in the UK in February. In March, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever reached England after a woman from Central Asia returned to the UK.
Currently, the UK is facing a new threat with the increasing infection of monkeypox. There are currently 793 cases of monkeypox in the UK, out of more than 2,100 cases in 42 countries globally. No deaths have been reported beyond Africa.
Until last month, monkeypox only caused widespread outbreaks in Central and West Africa; The continent has so far reported more than 1,500 cases and 72 suspected deaths in a separate pandemic. Vaccines have never been used to control monkeypox in Africa.