What is “disease X”? Ebola scientist issues warning over upcoming deadly virus



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Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, the scientist who helped discover the Ebola virus in 1976, has warned of the possibility that another deadly virus, called ‘disease X’, will soon take over the world. According to the professor, this disease (disease X), which originated in the African rainforests, is probably spreading as quickly as COVID-19 and could be as deadly as the African virus.

“We are now in a world where new pathogens will emerge. And that is what constitutes a threat to humanity, ”warned the professor against potentially fatal viruses emerging from African rainforests, CNN reports.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still posing a threat to the world and various vaccines receiving approvals for emergency use, Professor Muyembe also pointed out that humanity will face several unknown threats in the future and that any new disease could be more apocalyptic than the current pandemic.

Disease X is still ‘hypothetical’

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Disease X is still hypothetical but it could lead to another pandemic very soon.

The health expert said they expected another outbreak after a patient showed symptoms of hemorrhagic fever in Ingende, a remote town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After being tested for Ebola, which turned out negative, and several others, doctors said they could be signs of disease X, an “unexpected” new disease. Reports also suggest that the new pathogen could spread as quickly as COVID-19, but also has a 50-90% fatality rate from Ebola, according to a Daily Mail report.

“We must all be afraid,” the patient’s doctor, Dr Dadin Bonkole, told the American news channel. “Ebola was unknown. Covid was unknown. We must be afraid of new diseases. Professor Muyembe also issued a warning about the increase in many other zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are diseases that pass from animals to humans.

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