China News Service, Beijing, February 22 (Shao Meng) According to the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO), WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently issued a public warning about the possibility of an outbreak of "Disease X", saying that the next pandemic The disease outbreak is "not a question of if it will happen, but when." He called for preparations to deal with "Disease X".

　　The unknown pathogen "Disease X" has been mentioned many times recently. According to previous media reports, on January 17, local time, the World Economic Forum set up a sub-forum titled "Preparing for Disease

　　Why does “Disease X” alarm WHO? Is its outbreak inevitable? What can we do to prepare?

What is "Disease X"?

　　In fact, “disease X” is not a specific disease that actually exists today. According to the WHO, “Disease X” refers to the possibility of an unknown pathogen causing a serious international pandemic. It can be triggered at any time and from multiple sources, potentially claiming millions of lives.

　　This is not the first time this concept has been proposed. As early as 2018, the WHO issued a similar warning, listing "Disease X" as a "key pathogen" that may cause an epidemic or pandemic. Along with it are Ebola virus, Zika virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, etc. According to the WHO official website, the inclusion of "Disease X" is to cover unknown pathogens that may cause serious international epidemics.

  Data map: Testers perform nucleic acid extraction (picture and text are irrelevant) Photo by Hu Jing

　　Regarding the original intention of proposing the concept of "X disease", Zhao Wei, director of the Biosafety Research Center of the School of Public Health of Southern Medical University, pointed out in an interview with China-Singapore Health that the concept was proposed to avoid or reduce as much as possible new or mutated pathogens such as The harm of the new coronavirus to humans.

　　"It is possible, even likely, that we will face another pandemic in our lifetime. We don't know how serious it will be, but we can be prepared." Tedros recently said at the 2024 World Government Summit He said that despite some progress in surveillance, pandemic funds, vaccine production capacity, etc., as it stands, the world is still not ready for the next "X disease" and the next pandemic.

Will “Disease X” definitely come?

　　Tedros said at the above-mentioned conference that the next pandemic outbreak is "not a question of if, but when."

　　"Viruses in nature threaten human health at all times. Although more than 300 viruses that can infect humans have been discovered, there are still a large number of unknown viruses that need to be confirmed, and many of them may have the ability to break through species barriers and infect humans. ." Lu Hongzhou, director of the National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases and president of Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, told Sino-Singapore Health that a study showed that among the 25 virus families investigated, there are about 1.67 million unknown viruses that need to be discovered. , of which 631,000 to 827,000 species may infect humans.

　　Lu Hongzhou pointed out that as international exchanges become more frequent, new pathogenic microorganisms are emerging at an accelerated pace, and it is becoming more and more difficult to prevent large-scale infectious diseases. He previously said in an interview that experts around the world generally believe that another new infectious disease may break out in the near future.

　　Zhao Wei said that due to the uncertainty of human activities and the non-directional mutation of pathogens, it is difficult to accurately predict the emergence time of "X disease" in the future. But in the long run, "Disease X" will definitely occur somewhere in the future, and humans should continue to increase investment in public health to deal with it calmly.

How to deal with the possible arrival of "Disease X"?

　　Zhao Wei pointed out that because the pathogen of "X disease" is uncertain, its response is extremely difficult. First, it is necessary to improve public health emergency response capabilities, including establishing detection technology for unknown pathogens and forming a more sensitive and effective monitoring and early warning network. Secondly, the clinical treatment level and service capabilities of medical staff should be improved to be able to cope with sudden surges in medical demand. Third, improving the research and development technology and production capacity of new vaccines can quickly establish an immune barrier among the population after the outbreak of "Disease X".

  Data map: Staff are making preparations for vaccination. Photo by China News Service reporter Han Bing

　　He also said that if we can reduce the chance of contact with new pathogens in nature and reduce the infection rate of known pathogens in the population, we can reduce the mutations caused by new pathogens or known pathogens in the process of human transmission, thereby reducing the "X disease" "The probability of occurrence. Therefore, humans must have a more cautious attitude towards the development or research of the natural world and comply with biosafety and ethical norms as much as possible.

　　In response to possible emerging infectious diseases, Lu Hongzhou suggested establishing a mature diagnosis, prevention, treatment and innovative research system for emerging major infectious diseases, and forming pathogen identification, detection method development, and pathogenesis of major emerging infectious diseases. The closed loop of mechanism research, vaccine and new drug research and development enables rapid transformation and scientific, timely and effective response to emergencies.

　　In addition, we should build a strong public health system, including focusing on cultivating talents who can solve practical problems such as pathogen identification and laboratory testing; comprehensively strengthening the construction of infectious disease treatment capabilities in public hospitals and improving emergency medical treatment reserve capabilities; Investing in science and technology, concentrating efforts on core technological research, and closely cooperating with the World Health Organization and relevant countries will help combat possible new infectious disease pandemics in the future. (over)