Scientist Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, who was one of the first to detect the Ebola virus, warned of the possibility of a deadly “Disease X”, according to CNN.
According to the doctor, one of his patients had early symptoms of hemorrhagic fever, while her tests for Ebola and other known diseases showed negative results. He believes that this woman could become patient zero with the new disease. The disease is thought to be as contagious as the coronavirus, with deaths from infection reaching 50 to 90 percent of Ebola deaths.
At the moment, the existence of “Disease X” is only a hypothesis, but WHO believe that if fears are confirmed, the new disease will bring devastating consequences. Professor Muembe-Tamfum explained that humanity is threatened by a number of unknown viruses, and stressed that many deadly diseases lurk in the rainforests of Africa. He added that new pathogens that are transmitted from animals to humans, such as the coronavirus, are bound to appear.
Earlier, the leading Japanese futurologist, consultant to the Japanese government, Morinosuke Kawaguchi predicted new pandemics. Their reasons will remain the same: poor general health of people and their reluctance to change their lifestyle. According to the specialist, at critical moments people are scared and expect the worst development of the situation. “But like other problems, this one will also pass. Then everything will return to its place again, as if nothing had happened,” he predicted.