(STUDY FINDS) — There is a term all over the internet right now that may be new (and frightening) to hear: Disease X. The first thing you need to know about it is that there is no real Disease X. It isn’t even a new term. However, Disease X is the name healthcare officials are using for an idea — a very concerning idea.
The World Health Organization (WHO) coined the term in 2017. The WHO explains that this new term “represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen (a microorganism that may cause disease) currently unknown to cause human disease.”
Simply put, Disease X is a theoretical pathogen – a hypothetical virus. It may be unknown or a long-forgotten infectious particle.
