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Scientists, in their bid to predict and preempt the next COVID-like pandemic, have compiled a watch list that includes the 2,600-year-old Black Death and monkeypox (Mpox) which is spreading rapidly in Central Africa.
Knewz.com has learned that a total of 37 diseases are now on the World Health Organisation’s radar.
Topping the newly added diseases is cholera. The diarrhoeal illness contracted through contaminated food and water was registered 247,071 times—resulting in 2,121 deaths as of January 2024.
Its occurrence was mainly noted in Africa and Afghanistan.
Black Death, otherwise known as the bubonic plague, is best known for its effect on Europe between the years 1347 and 1351 when it took the lives of as many as 25–60% of the continent's population.
It spreads through flea bites and when in its mature stages, is contracted through inhaling infected respiratory droplets (from coughs and sneezes), or through physical contact with infected bite marks.
It was noted in the United States in the 1900s and in modern times seven cases per year are reported nationally.
Shigella, the third new entry on the WHO’s list, is an intestinal infection that leads to (often bloody) diarrhea. This bug is highly transmissible with microscopic stool traces capable of spreading the disease. Mayo Cliniccites a typical source of it as childcare scenarios where the washing of hands is more likely to be neglected.
Other symptoms of the disease are stomach pain or cramps, fever, nausea, or vomiting.
Between 80–165 million cases of the disease occur worldwide annually—600,000 of which result in death. In the U.S. 450,000 infections occur yearly and drug-resistant strains lead to $93 million in medical costs over the same period.
Salmonella – responsible for around 150 million illnesses and 60,000 deaths – can be contracted through meat and certain unwashed fruits and result in food poisoning and diarrhea. In the United States, 1.35 million cases occur each year, with 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths over the same periods.
Klebsiella pneumoniae – also on the list – has a 50% mortality rate among those of its victims who contract pneumonia. Its symptoms are coughs, fever, chest pain, and shortness of breath.
It can be transmitted through open wounds, urinary tracts, and airways, and is emerging as a multidrug-resistant illness. Most of its occurrences have been recorded in Asia and Africa.
West Nile disease is spread through mosquito bites and hosts of the virus usually exhibit symptoms like fever, rash, muscle aches, and in extreme cases, serious brain damage.
Throughout its development, uninfected mosquitoes draw blood from birds with the virus – becoming infected themselves – and then pass it onto humans when they bite them.
The disease is prevalent in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and West Asia. In the U.S., one in ten cases per every 100,000 people have been recorded in the Great Plains and western states.
The last addition to the WHO’s watchlist is dengue fever — best known for its prevalence in tropical and subtropical climates, like Asia, Africa, and South America — along with tick-borne encephalitis which attacks the human host’s nervous system often resulting in meningitis.
Chikunguny, a mosquito-borne illness resulting in joint pain, headache, muscle pain, swollen joints, and rash has also recently been added to the list.