(NewsNation) — At the recent World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization issued a warning to world leaders, saying the world could face a pandemic 20 times worse than COVID-19 in the future.
Scientists call it Disease X, a term that recognizes the next global pandemic could come as the result of an unknown pathogen rather than the spread of a currently recognized disease.
Scientists with the WHO held a session last week calling on world leaders to work together to develop strategies to prevent or manage a Disease X pandemic in the future.
Disease X is not real. It is the name given to a hypothetical pathogen that is being used to help plan for future health crises. Global healthcare experts on Wednesday spoke on a WEF panel called “Preparing for Disease X.” The name was coined by the World Health Organization in 2018.
One of the issues raised was developing better communication strategies to reduce misinformation and conspiracy theories, even as some took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to call the session itself a conspiracy against freedom.
Scientists say the most likely culprit for Disease X would be a respiratory virus, possibly one already circulating in animals that hasn't yet made the jump to humans.
Without preparedness, the WHO warned, a pandemic from Disease X could cause much more damage than COVID, which has killed more than 7 million worldwide.
The WHO has already begun some initiatives to protect against a future pandemic, including efforts to support technology sharing and boost disease surveillance between countries.
While Disease X was the focus of the session, it's not the only illness that concerns epidemiologists. Other viruses that could potentially cause a pandemic include Ebola, Marburg, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever, SARS, MERS, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever, Zika virus and new evolutions of COVID-19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.