London. Dame Kate Bingham, Chief of Britain’s Vaccine Taskforce, says that the next epidemic could kill 50 million people. The World Health Organization (WHO) has named this anticipated epidemic as Disease X.
At the same time, according to the report of Daily Mail, experts say that this epidemic can prove to be 7 times more dangerous than Covid-19 and can spread soon. This means that its cases may come to light soon. This epidemic will spread only because of the existing virus. This is because viruses are mutating rapidly.
Mutation means change in the genetic material of an organism. When a virus makes millions of copies of itself and passes from one person to another or from an animal to a human, each copy is different. This difference increases in copies. After some time a new strain emerges. This is a very common process. Viruses keep changing their form. Seasonal influenza appears in a new form every year.
Work on making vaccine started even before the epidemic
British scientists have started making vaccines to fight Disease X even before its arrival. For this, 25 types of viruses were studied. Scientists’ focus is on viruses found in animals. That is, those viruses which can spread from animals to humans. This is because due to climate change many animals and creatures are coming to live in residential areas.
Climate change is spreading diseases
In the name of development, humans cut forests and built houses and industries here. Due to this, our contact with animals, mosquitoes, bacteria and fungus has increased. On the other hand, all these animals are adapting themselves to the changing climate conditions and are living in our environment. Many diseases are spreading due to these, which are dangerous for our lives. Physician Neel Vora of Conservation International NGO said – This is not a problem of future. Climate change is happening right now. It is affecting people. they are dying. Many researches have revealed that diseases are spreading due to climate change.
Animals living in lower and hotter places are not able to withstand the rising temperatures, hence they are migrating towards higher and cooler places. Along with this, diseases are also reaching areas where they were not there before.
Direct contact with diseases is increasing
Human beings depend on many organisms for their life. They eat them for survival. What happens is that humans come in direct contact with the bacteria growing in these organisms or the diseases spread by them.
AI will give warning before the next epidemic: The new system will detect worrisome-dangerous variants, will also give information about the mutation of the virus.
Scientists have created an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system that will give warning of the next epidemic. This will detect variants of concern i.e. worrisome and dangerous variants. This will help in preventing or controlling the epidemic.
Understand it like this through an example – According to Science News, Possums, a mongoose-like animal found in Australia, is spreading a disease called Buruli Ulcer.
Possums can live in the temperature of Australia, but if there is a change in the temperature there then this creature can go to another country to find favorable conditions. Suppose Possums reach New Zealand in search of favorable conditions and start living there. In such a situation, Buruli ulcer disease spread by possums will start spreading in Australia as well as New Zealand.
