Millions of people are at risk of falling victim to a new global epidemic. The cause of its outbreak will be an as yet unknown infection called X-disease. This is reported by Science Alert in connection with the World He alth Organization report
It should be noted that the disease can be as deadly as the Spanish flu that raged at the beginning of the last century and claimed the lives of tens of millions of people. Scientists believe that it is necessary to prepare rapid response measures in advance.
Disease X is included in the list of epidemics compiled by doctors that can cover the whole world. In addition to the dangerous viruses are Lassa, Ebola, Marburg, Zick's disease, respiratory and acute respiratory infections in the Middle East.
Spanish flu is the name given to the worldwide flu (influenza) pandemic that swept the world in 1918. The pandemic lasted from January 1918 to December 1920, reaching as far as the Arctic and remote island groups in the Pacific Ocean. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, from 50 to 130 million victims, but even accounting for the smaller number, the Spanish flu is one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. Of the Earth's then population of 1.86 billion people, between 3% and 5% died, 500 million (27%) were infected.
The geographic origin of the pandemic is unclear in the historical and epidemiological data. Unlike most flu epidemics, which mainly affect minors and older people in poor he alth, with the Spanish flu, a large proportion of those infected are young adults in excellent he alth. The disaster influenced a significant rise in cases of encephalitis lethargy in the 1920s.
After examining tissue taken from frozen victims, it was concluded that the virus killed by inducing the so-called cytokine storm (overreaction of the immune system). This explains how the response of strong immune systems actually ravaged the body of the infected.
