As long as we can remember we know how devastating the COVID-19 pandemic was. On Jan. 30, 2020, the World Health Organisation WHO made a declaration about “novel coronavirus”. They declared it as a Global Pandemic that first emerged and was identified in China. The threat of the virus extended up to an extent where it was announced as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Even three years later, Novel Coronavirus which is now called SARS-CoV-2 is still spreading and causing a disease named COVID-19.
However, the experts who are studying this COVID-19 virus are expressing their concerns about some of the very similarly dangerous viruses having the tenacity to cause the same level of threat. The World Health Organisation keeps a record of such viruses and bacteria that have the potential to cause another pandemic. Let’s take a look at them using the list created by 300 scientists after being convened by the World Health Organisation.
List of Most Dangerous Viruses and Bacteria Having the Potential to Cause Pandemic Again
1. Nipah Virus
- List of animals that carry this virus: fruit bats, flying foxes (another species of bats), and household animals like pigs, horses, cats, and dogs.
How Nipah Virus Spreads?
- Nipah virus is highly transmissible and can spread from person to person, animal to person and even from contaminated foods.
How Dangerous is it?
- Nipah has a fatality rate of 40% to 75%. It can cause encephalitis and even brain swelling.
Treatment for Nipah Virus
- A cure for this virus is still in development, neither is it available for animals nor people.
- Furthermore, Monoclonal antibody therapies are also in the development phase.
2. Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever
- Ticks and livestock carry this virus and are responsible for spreading it.
How Does This Virus Spread Among Humans?
- Among humans, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is spread through infected ticks and infected livestock. However, human-to-human transmissibility is rare. It only spreads when you come in close contact with an infected person’s blood or other bodily fluids.
How Dangerous is it?
- Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever has a fatality rate of 10% to 40%. For Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia this disease is endemic, meaning it occurs there on a regular basis. This virus causes viral hemorrhagic fever, which is a condition that damages body organs severely affecting your cardiovascular system. Moreover, severe bleeding is also seen in most cases.
Treat or Cure for it
- A vaccine is used in Bulgaria but there is no data on how well it works and it is not licensed anywhere else. Furthermore, other vaccines are still in the development phase and ribavirin, which is an antiviral drug, appears to be very helpful in treatment.
3. Lassa Fever
- Animals that carry this virus are rats and other rodents.
How Does Lassa Fever Spread Among Humans?
- This virus is regularly occurring in several parts of West Africa. Rats and other rodent species are responsible for spreading this virus among humans when they come in contact with their urine and faeces. Furthermore, it can spread by eating contaminated foods. Similar to rodents, humans can spread this virus among them by coming in close contact with another person’s blood, urine, or faeces via sexual contact, etc.
How Dangerous is it?
- The fatality rate is 1% extended up to %15 in hospitalisation cases. This virus is deadly for people with low immunity, and pregnant women, and can cause permanent deafness, besides death.
Treat or Cure
- There is no cure available for this virus but vaccines are under development. However, ribavirin treats infections very well.
4. Rift Valley fever
- Majorly mosquitoes carry rift valley fever.
How Rift Valley Fever Spreads Among Humans?
- Mosquitoes spread this virus to humans and also to their offspring. Furthermore, livestock like cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo and camels also get infected and carry it. It spreads from human to human after coming in close contact with blood, urine or other body fluids.
How Dangerous is it?
- Even though the fatality rate is less than %1 the symptoms are very mild for most people. Only about 8-10% of the population is infected with any severe symptoms, which include- lesions, encephalitis and hemorrhagic fever.
Cure or Treatment
- A vaccine has been developed for the Rift Valley virus but it is not yet licenced or available in the market.
5. Zika Virus
- Mosquitoes carry this virus majorly.
How Zika Virus Spreads Among Humans?
- Mosquitoes infect humans with the Zika virus and even pregnant ladies can get their foetuses infected. Moreover, sexual contact can also spread this virus.
Cure & Treatment
- There is no cure or treatment for the Zika virus.
6. Ebola and Marburg virus disease
- Usually, Bats and nonhuman primates are the sources of spreading this virus that causes hemorrhagic fever.
How Ebola and Marburg virus disease Spread Among Humans?
- Both of them spread in the same way. After getting infected by an animal, humans spread this virus among themselves after coming into contact with blood and other body fluids. Moreover, if an object or surface is contaminated with the body fluids of an infected person, it can also spread the disease.
How Dangerous is it?
- The average fatality rate from viruses is nearly $50 which varies from %25-90% in past outbreaks.
Cure & Treatment
- “Vaccines have been used for Ebola in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Monoclonal antibodies approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2020 can also help with the treatment of Ebola. Vaccines for Marburg virus are in development.”
7. MERS or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
- Camels usually carry MERS.
How does MERS Spread Among Humans?
- After getting infected by a camel, a human can transfer it to others after coming in close contact.
How Dangerous is it?
- The fatality rate of MERS is announced at 35% by WHO.
Cure & Treatment
- Several vaccines are in the development stage but none of them is approved.
8. SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
- For the 2003 outbreak of SARS, the palm civets were majorly blamed. However, bats and other wildfires can also carry it.
How did SARS Spread Among Humans?
- After an infection transfers from anime to person, SARS can be spread through close contact from humans to others. It is believed that droplets from coughs and sneezes can carry this virus.
How Dangerous is it?
- This virus has a fatality rate of less than %1.
Cure & Treatment
- No vaccine has been developed for this virus yet that has been approved.
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9. Disease X
- For Disease X there is a limited explanation. However, WHO says, “it does not rank diseases in any order of potential threat, but it acknowledges the possibility that an as-yet-unknown disease could cause a serious pandemic.”
