[ad_1]
Disease X, a new unknown disease that could cause a future epidemic, should be seen as a serious threat to drive preparedness as it will be highly infectious, more lethal than Covid-19 and will mutate easily, local health experts said.
For now, it’s more of a hypothetical concept to warn people of a new, worse disease to allow for planning, said Professor Dale Fisher, senior consultant in the division of infectious diseases at National University Hospital.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong raised the specter of the emergence of Disease X during the debate on the president’s speech in Parliament on Wednesday.
He warned that it is only a matter of time before Disease X occurs, and said that Covid-19 is by no means the worst new disease that can affect humanity.
He said Singapore must develop its stamina, instincts and readiness to counter Disease X when it arrives.
Commenting on Prime Minister Lee’s remarks, Professor Fisher said: “It is also potentially helpful in driving preparedness efforts and not being complacent, as the world is at higher risk of new infections or major mutations in existing microorganisms and less than pathogens we already know about, like Ebola. “
Whether or not Covid-19 is viewed as Disease X, Professor Fisher said that what is most critical is the national and global response to address the current pandemic and how this could be improved should a similar pandemic emerge or More serious.
Associate Professor Alex Cook, Vice Dean for Research at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, noted that Covid-19 has some characteristics associated with Disease X.
“It is a new virus, it caused a pandemic of respiratory diseases and it was not influenza. At first its mode of transmission, its symptoms and its severity profile were not known. We still do not know about immunity to Sars-CoV-2.
“It is also serious enough to cause many deaths, but not too serious to be easy to control, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars),” said Professor Cook.
All these uncertainties make it difficult for countries to shape policies and implementation, leaving them stumbling in the dark with their answers, said Professor Cook.
But he cautioned that it would be rash to think that the next infectious disease threat will be similar to Covid’s, as the possibilities are endless.
“It could be a new influenza virus, like the one that caused the 1918 pandemic, killing tens of millions of people.
“It could also be something more severe, in the mold of Sars, Middle East respiratory syndrome or Nipah virus,” he said.
The worst nightmare would be a virus that is highly communicable, like influenza, and as lethal as Sars, like the hypothetical Mev-1 virus from the movie Contagion, he raised.
“So while Covid-19 has been a disaster for the world, with nearly a million deaths, the next big one will be different and could be worse.
“I think this is why PM Lee warned us not to think of Covid-19 as Disease X,” added Professor Cook.
Experts said the experience of past infections has definitely taught Singapore several lessons.
Singapore learned the importance of adequately equipping healthcare workers to protect them from infections originating in a hospital while on the job, having been through Sars’s experience.
That pandemic saw the spread of infections from patients to healthcare workers in Singapore, said Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
It also led to the creation of a dedicated healthcare facility, the National Center for Infectious Diseases, to care for people with respiratory infections, as well as stockpiling the proper essential personal protective equipment, which turned out to be critical in an outbreak, he added. Professor Teo. .
These helped keep Singapore’s Covid-19 infection and death rates among healthcare workers among the lowest in the world.
Other lessons learned were the protection of the community from a highly infectious agent and protocols to minimize infection among vulnerable groups such as those living in nursing homes and dormitories for the elderly, such as the use of masks, safe distancing, good personal hygiene and tracking. of aggressive contacts and rings. fencing, said Professor Teo.
Professor Cook said that Covid-19 also called for new policies following lockdowns in Wuhan, China and the Singapore circuit breaker.
“In the years to come, there will be a lot of research on what worked and what didn’t, although it behooves us not to over-extrapolate the Covid-19 for Disease X experience and to always be agile in our response.” he said.
[ad_2]
