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‘Fatal than Covid-19’- Global leaders set to Disease X at WEF

Disease X is placed by the WHO alongside other high-priority diseases such as Ebola and Zika virus.

• By PharmaNews Live Desk
• New Delhi
• Jan 17, 2024

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The global leaders are meeting currently in Davos for the annual meeting of World Economic Forum from 15-19 January 2024. Among other discussions, the most prominent one is going to be a panel meeting on Disease X.

Post the warnings from the World Health Organization that an unknown “Disease X” could result in 20 times more fatalities than the Covid-19 pandemic, the session on 17 January 2024 is said to focus on preparations and effectiveness of the healthcare systems to deal with the multiple challenges ahead.  

"What new efforts are needed to prepare health systems for the multiple challenges ahead, with new warnings from the World Health Organization that unknown disease X could cause 20 times more deaths than the coronavirus pandemic?" said the WEF’s website.

The session is formally titled as “Preparation for Disease X”, and will see the participation of Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Minister of Health of Brazil Nicia Trindade Lima, the officials of the company AstraZeneca, Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice-Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, and Shyam Bishen, Head, Centre for Health and Healthcare; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum Geneva, among others. 

The term ‘Disease X’ was coined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2018, to represent an unknown pathogen that could cause an epidemic or pandemic more deadly than Covid-19, which took millions of lives across the globe. .

Disease X is placed by the WHO alongside other high-priority diseases such as Ebola and Zika virus.