The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a concerning update, identifying 30 diseases that could potentially trigger the next global pandemic.
These diseases are highly contagious and currently have no effective treatments, posing a serious threat to public health.
The list of “priority pathogens” includes viruses like influenza A, dengue, and monkeypox. These pathogens have the potential to cause widespread health emergencies.
Over 200 experts studied 1,652 diseases and picked 30 that are most concerning, including Merbecovirus (which causes MERS) and SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19).
The list also now includes the monkeypox virus and the variola virus (which causes smallpox). These diseases are being closely monitored for their potential to spark the next pandemic.
Ana Maria Henao Restrepo from WHO said it’s important to quickly find out what we don’t know about these threats.
Neelika Malavige, an immunologist from Sri Lanka, stressed the need to update this list due to current global issues, emphasizing the urgency of the situation.
Malavige also mentioned that the variola virus could be used as a biological weapon. The list includes six influenza A viruses, like H5, which caused a cattle outbreak in the U.S.
Scientists warned that rapid urbanization and climate change could help these viruses spread more easily, increasing the risk of new outbreaks.