Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) have warned that there is a high likelihood of a new global epidemic (pandemic), which will be caused by an as yet unidentified infection called "X disease". Writes about this publication Science Alert.
Researchers have compiled a list of diseases that can affect all of humanity. It included the Lassa viral hemorrhagic fever, which spread to Nigeria, and Ebola, which claimed more than 11,000 lives in 2014-2015. In addition, scientists believe that infections such as Marburg fever, Crimea-Congo fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome, severe acute respiratory syndrome and Zika disease are extremely dangerous.
Doctors also put "X disease" on the list, because they believe that the pandemic may be caused by an unknown disease that will turn out to be as deadly as the Spanish flu at the beginning of the last century. Scientists plan to prepare in advance measures to combat a dangerous infection in order to quickly respond to any potential threat.
"Spanish flu" - a massive flu epidemic in 1918-1919. According to scientists, 550 million people were infected with the virus, 50-100 million died.