www.cbsnews.com Open in urlscan Pro
146.75.121.188  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

 * Latest
   * U.S.
   * World
   * America Decides
   * Election 2024
   * Politics
   * Entertainment
   * HealthWatch
   * MoneyWatch
   * Crime
   * Space
   * Sports
   * Brand Studio
 * Local News
   * Baltimore
   * Bay Area
   * Boston
   * Chicago
   * Colorado
   * Detroit
   * Los Angeles
   * Miami
   * Minnesota
   * New York
   * Philadelphia
   * Pittsburgh
   * Sacramento
   * Texas
 * Live
   * CBS News 24/7
   * Baltimore
   * Bay Area
   * Boston
   * Chicago
   * Colorado
   * Detroit
   * Los Angeles
   * Miami
   * Minnesota
   * New York
   * Philadelphia
   * Pittsburgh
   * Sacramento
   * Texas
   * 48 Hours
   * 60 Minutes
 * Shows
   * 48 Hours
   * 60 Minutes
   * America Decides
   * CBS Evening News
   * CBS Mornings
   * CBS News Mornings
   * CBS Reports
   * CBS Saturday Morning
   * The Daily Report
   * The Dish
   * Eye on America
   * Face the Nation
   * Here Comes the Sun
   * Person to Person
   * Sunday Morning
   * The Takeout
   * The Uplift
   * Weekender
 * * CBS News Investigates
   * CBS Village
   * Podcasts
   * In Depth
   * Newsletters
   * Download Our App
   * CBS News Team
   * Executive Team
   * Brand Studio
   * Paramount Shop
   * Paramount+
   * Join Our Talent Community
   * RSS Feeds
   * A Moment With...
   * Innovators & Disruptors
   * Economy 4.0





 * U.S.
 * America Decides
 * Election 2024
 * World
 * Politics
 * HealthWatch
 * MoneyWatch
 * Entertainment
 * Crime
 * Sports



Watch CBS News

Health


WORLD LEADERS ARE GATHERING TO DISCUSS DISEASE X. HERE'S WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE
HYPOTHETICAL PANDEMIC.

By Simrin Singh

January 17, 2024 / 10:51 PM EST / CBS News

 * 
 * 
 * 

What is hypothetical "Disease X"?

World leaders set to tackle threat of hypothetical "Disease X" 04:10

World leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos,
Switzerland, on Wednesday to discuss Disease X, a hypothetical virus 20 times
deadlier than COVID-19.

While such a virus isn't known to currently exist, researchers, scientists and
experts are hoping to proactively come up with a plan of action to combat such a
virus and prepare the health system if it were to emerge as a pandemic — a
possibility one expert told CBS News could happen sooner than we think.

"There are strains of viruses that have very high mortality rates that could
develop the ability to transmit efficiently from human to human," said Dr. Amesh
Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.




WHAT IS DISEASE X?

In 2022, the World Health Organization brought together 300 scientists to look
into 25 virus families and bacteria to create a list of pathogens that they
believe have the potential to wreak havoc and should be studied more. Included
on that list is Disease X, which was first recognized by the organization in
2018.

The WHO says the virus "represents the knowledge that a serious international
epidemic could be caused by [an unknown] pathogen." 



WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday in Davos that
COVID-19 may have been our first "Disease X," and that scientists and experts
are actively learning from that experience.


FROM WHERE COULD A PATHOGEN LIKE DISEASE X ORIGINATE?

A deadly pathogen like Disease X, which would likely be a respiratory virus,
according to Adalja, could already be circulating in animal species and is just
not able to be transmitted to humans yet.

"That could be bats like COVID-19, it could be in birds like bird flu, or it
could be some other type of animal species, swine for example," he said. "It's
really about that interface between humans and animals, where interactions are
occurring, that these types of viruses get a foothold."


HOW ARE EXPERTS PREPARING FOR DISEASE X?

If we are unprepared, it is likely a disease of that scale could cause even more
damage than we experienced with COVID-19, which has killed more than 7 million
people, according to the WHO.



"If we did so poorly with something like COVID-19, you can imagine how poorly we
would do with something like a 1918-level event," Adalja said, referring to the
influenza pandemic of 1918 that killed an estimated 50 million people around the
world, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

That's why experts from around the world have been working on a robust and
effective plan to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Ghebreyesus said an
early-warning system and a plan for health infrastructure, which was
overburdened during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to many deaths, could help in
a future scenario. 

"Whether it's in health systems or even the private sector, by the way —
research and development — you can prepare for it," he said.

Another major lesson from COVID-19 is the importance of transparency, Adalja
said.

"I think what we see now is this distrust between infectious disease physicians,
public health practitioners and the general public, because what happened is
politicians injected themselves into this," he said. "People may not actually be
receptive to the protective actions that are being recommended by public health
officials."

Ghebreyesus said the WHO, in partnership with other global organizations, has
already put initiatives in place in preparation for the next major pandemic or
epidemic. These efforts include the pandemic fund to help nations with
resources, the mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub to ensure vaccine equity for
low-income nations and the hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence to improve
collaborative surveillance between countries.


MORE FROM CBS NEWS

Zuckerberg meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
L.A., a city of immigrants, braces for Trump's vow of mass deportations
Israel says it struck weapons smuggling sites on Syria-Lebanon border
Can countries agree to "end the world's plastic pollution crisis"?
Tennis star Iga Swiatek gets one-month suspension in doping case
   In:
 * Vaccine
 * World Economic Forum
 * COVID-19
 * Pandemic
 * World Health Organization
 * Epidemic

Simrin Singh

Simrin Singh is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS
News.



© 2024 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.


MORE FROM CBS NEWS

ZUCKERBERG MEETS WITH TRUMP AT MAR-A-LAGO

L.A., A CITY OF IMMIGRANTS, BRACES FOR TRUMP'S VOW OF MASS DEPORTATIONS

ISRAEL SAYS IT STRUCK WEAPONS SMUGGLING SITES ON SYRIA-LEBANON BORDER

CAN COUNTRIES AGREE TO "END THE WORLD'S PLASTIC POLLUTION CRISIS"?





Copyright ©2024 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

 * Privacy Policy
 * California Notice
 * Manage Cookies
 * Terms of Use
 * About
 * Advertise
 * Closed Captioning
 * CBS News Store
 * Site Map
 * Contact Us
 * Help

 * facebook
 * twitter
 * instagram
 * youtube

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive
reporting.
Not Now Turn On


REVIEW AND MANAGE YOUR COOKIE SETTINGS

If you consent, we and our 138 partners can store and access personal
information on your device to provide a more personalised browsing experience.
This is accomplished through processing personal data collected from browsing
data stored in cookies. You can provide/withdraw consent and object to
processing based on a legitimate interest at any time by clicking on the
‘Manage’ button.
For more information refer Privacy Policy.


WE AND OUR PARTNERS PROCESS DATA TO PROVIDE:

Store and/or access information on a device. Use limited data to select
advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to
select personalised advertising. Measure advertising performance. Understand
audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources.
Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. List of
Partners

Accept Reject
Manage



ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY




 * YOUR PRIVACY


 * ESSENTIAL


 * ANALYTIC & PERFORMANCE


 * FUNCTIONAL


 * MARKETING AND ADVERTISING


 * SOCIAL MEDIA


 * STORE AND/OR ACCESS INFORMATION ON A DEVICE 129 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE


 * USE LIMITED DATA TO SELECT ADVERTISING 61 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE


 * CREATE PROFILES FOR PERSONALISED ADVERTISING 97 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE


 * USE PROFILES TO SELECT PERSONALISED ADVERTISING 92 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS
   PURPOSE


 * MEASURE ADVERTISING PERFORMANCE 77 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE


 * UNDERSTAND AUDIENCES THROUGH STATISTICS OR COMBINATIONS OF DATA FROM
   DIFFERENT SOURCES 82 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE


 * DEVELOP AND IMPROVE SERVICES 64 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE


 * USE LIMITED DATA TO SELECT CONTENT 12 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE


 * ENSURE SECURITY, PREVENT AND DETECT FRAUD, AND FIX ERRORS 106 PARTNERS CAN
   USE THIS SPECIAL PURPOSE


 * DELIVER AND PRESENT ADVERTISING AND CONTENT 92 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS SPECIAL
   PURPOSE


 * SAVE AND COMMUNICATE PRIVACY CHOICES 84 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS SPECIAL PURPOSE

YOUR PRIVACY

We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the
delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our
website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent and
legitimate interest. You may exercise your right to consent or object to a
legitimate interest, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in
the link under each purpose. These choices will be signaled to our vendors
participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Privacy Policy

List of IAB Vendors‎

ESSENTIAL

Always Active

These cookies are essential for the proper functioning of our Services.
Essential cookies cannot be switched off in our systems. You can set your device
to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the Service will
not work.

Cookies Details‎

ANALYTIC & PERFORMANCE

Analytic & Performance Inactive


These Cookies allow us to collect information about how visitors use our
properties. Some examples include counting visits and traffic sources, so we can
measure and improve the performance of our services. If you do not allow these
Cookies we will not know when users have visited our properties and will not be
able to monitor performance.

Cookies Details‎

FUNCTIONAL

Functional Inactive


These Cookies enable the services to provide enhanced functionality and
personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose
services we have added to our services. If you do not allow these Cookies then
some or all of these services may not function properly.

Cookies Details‎

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

Marketing and Advertising Inactive


These Cookies may be set by us or through our services by our advertising
partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your
interests and show you relevant advertising on this and on other properties. If
you do not allow these Cookies, you will still see ads, but you will experience
less relevant advertising.

Cookies Details‎

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media Inactive


These Cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to
the services to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks.
They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites, building up a
profile of your interests to show you relevant content and advertisements on the
relevant social networks. If you do not allow these Cookies you may not be able
to use or see these sharing tools.

Cookies Details‎

STORE AND/OR ACCESS INFORMATION ON A DEVICE 129 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Store and/or access information on a device Inactive


Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers,
randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other
information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported
technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each
time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes
presented here.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

USE LIMITED DATA TO SELECT ADVERTISING 61 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Use limited data to select advertising Inactive


Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such
as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type
or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit
the number of times an ad is presented to you).

Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection
List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

CREATE PROFILES FOR PERSONALISED ADVERTISING 97 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Create profiles for personalised advertising Inactive


Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit,
content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you
(for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other
websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a
profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects).
Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more
relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

USE PROFILES TO SELECT PERSONALISED ADVERTISING 92 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Use profiles to select personalised advertising Inactive


Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising
profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or
apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and
personal aspects.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

MEASURE ADVERTISING PERFORMANCE 77 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Measure advertising performance Inactive


Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact
with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other
users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance,
whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a
product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the
relevance of advertising campaigns.

Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection
List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

UNDERSTAND AUDIENCES THROUGH STATISTICS OR COMBINATIONS OF DATA FROM DIFFERENT
SOURCES 82 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different
sources Inactive


Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user
profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your
interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising)
content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which
target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

DEVELOP AND IMPROVE SERVICES 64 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Develop and improve services Inactive


Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with
ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to
build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of
audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or
improvement of user profiles and identifiers.

Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection
List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

USE LIMITED DATA TO SELECT CONTENT 12 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE



Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as
the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type,
or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit
the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).

Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection
List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

ENSURE SECURITY, PREVENT AND DETECT FRAUD, AND FIX ERRORS 106 PARTNERS CAN USE
THIS SPECIAL PURPOSE

Always Active

Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent
activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure
systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct
any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery
of content and ads and in your interaction with them.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

DELIVER AND PRESENT ADVERTISING AND CONTENT 92 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS SPECIAL
PURPOSE

Always Active

Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to
ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to
facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

SAVE AND COMMUNICATE PRIVACY CHOICES 84 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS SPECIAL PURPOSE

Always Active

The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice
are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals
(such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this
service and those entities to respect such choices.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 
Back Button


VENDORS LIST

Filter Button
Consent Leg.Interest
checkbox label label
checkbox label label
checkbox label label

Clear
checkbox label label
Apply Cancel
Save Settings
Reject Accept

Manage Cookies