Disease X

Disease X is a hypothetical pathogen, representing a global pandemic threat as identified by the World Health Organization (WHO). The term was coined by the WHO in 2018 to represent the potential for an unknown international epidemic.

Overview

Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease. It is a placeholder for a contagious disease that could emerge in the future, but is not yet known to exist. The concept was included in the WHO's 2018 R&D Blueprint, a watchlist for diseases that pose a high risk of causing a public health emergency but lack effective treatments or vaccines.

Potential Origins

Disease X could emerge from a variety of sources. It could be a completely new disease, such as HIV/AIDS was in the 20th century, or it could be a known disease that has mutated to become more deadly or contagious, such as influenza. It could also be a disease that has jumped from animals to humans, known as a zoonotic disease, similar to Ebola or SARS.

Preparedness and Response

The inclusion of Disease X in the WHO's R&D Blueprint is intended to encourage research and development in new technologies and platforms that can be used to create diagnostics, vaccines, and treatments that can be rapidly deployed against the unknown disease. The WHO also encourages countries to strengthen their public health infrastructure and surveillance systems to detect and respond to Disease X if and when it emerges.

See Also

• Pandemic
• Epidemic
• Zoonotic disease
• Public health