After “Corona” .. experts warn of the “X” pandemic

Experts in Britain have warned of the possibility of a new pandemic, symbolizing them with the letter “X”, calling for strengthening preparations to confront this possibility.

After remnants of the polio virus were found in wastewater in separate areas of the British capital for the first time in 40 years, a disease expert warned that something might happen on the horizon, according to a report published by the “Sky News” website.

During the past months, a series of bird flu was discovered spreading between humans last January, and it returned in February this year to infection with Lassa fever, which is caused by contact with food and household items contaminated with its feces, and this infection was widespread in Britain in 2009.

In March, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever was discovered in Britain after a woman, usually from Central Asia, gave birth to her. In addition to these viruses, monkeypox, which appeared last May, where dozens of infections of this virus were recorded in the country. Before that, the Corona virus had invaded Britain, as well as the rest of the world, killing about 180,000 people.

“It is likely that people who move from this country to other countries and return are the biggest drivers of transmission of these diseases,” said Paul Hunter, academic at the University of East Anglia.

“We need to pay attention, to bolster preparations, and maintain our surveillance systems, because COVID-19 hasn’t been as severe as it seemed in the big plans,” Hunter added.

“When it comes to disease, we are not an island and it would be wrong to consider ourselves as such,” he added.

In light of the current virus outbreak, epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse warned: “There is a name for what we are seeing at the moment in the UK and elsewhere, and it is a chatter.”

He said that the name is used in the fight against terrorism to describe small events that refer to other events of greater importance looming, and this applies to the method of infectious diseases.

Last year, the World Health Organization warned of the possibility of a new pandemic similar to the Black Plague, the virus that spread in the fourteenth century and killed 75 million.