Hunt on for ‘Animal X’ hiding deadly virus that could trigger pandemic worse than the black death killing 75million
“ANIMAL X” could be hiding a deadly virus that could trigger a pandemic worse than the Black Death which could kill more than 75million people.
Experts have told The Sun Online how unknown viruses which are currently hiding unseen in animals around could mutate and cross over to humans.
With the world currently fighting the Covid pandemic, scientists are in a race against time to find the potential source of the next one.
Animals and the viruses which lurk within them are one of the leading suspects as expanding human populations come into contact with nature.
World Health Organization (WHO) officials have warned the threat from zoonotic disease – where infections jump from animals to humans – are an emerging danger.
WHO estimates around one billion cases of illness and millions of deaths occur each year from zoonoses.
Dr Josef Settele, from the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, a co-author of a new UN-level study on future pandemics, told The Sun Online: “In principle any species could be a source. The probability is higher for groups where there are more species like rats and bats.
“In the end, it depends on the adaptability of the species.”
The Sun Online previously revealed how an as of yet unknown disease could cause the next pandemic, a phenomenon known as Disease X – and it is possible this could be carried by unknown animal, “Animal X”.
We also revealed scientists fear the next pandemic could be worst than the Black Death – that killed 75million people – and mankind may face a health crisis every five years.
Out of the 1.67million unknown viruses on the planet up to 827,000 of these could have the ability to infect people from animals, according to the EcoHealth Alliance.
Covid-19 is believed chilling reminder of how animal viruses can make the leap to humanity and spread like wildfire.
Bird flu, SARS, MERS, Nipah and yellow fever are all examples of the bugs which originated in animals before the viruses mutated and jumped to humans.
Amazon rainforest clearance has been labelled as a potential arena for the next pandemic, with bats being captured by the state-run Fiocruz Institute for study to identify any other viruses that could be lethal to humans.
Australians have also been warned to keep away from their native bats, who could also carry a number of harmful disease we are unaware of – with the emerging Hendra virus believed to have come from the flying rodents.
Wet markets in China, where animals such as bats are slaughtered and then sold as meat, are well known as a hotbed for diseases, with studies warning of infectious respiratory diseases emerging from them even before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Similar to the wet markets, bush meat markets in Africa selling monkey meat have been blamed for the emergence of the lethal Ebola.
Russia detected the first ever cases of H5N8 bird flu being passed to humans last month, and while this disease did not cause any fatalities, the way it has adapted to infect people is a worrying sign.
Scientists fear an outbreak of MERS, a deadlier coronavirus than Covid-19, could spark a pandemic due to more people coming into contact with camels – a reservoir of viruses.
Anthony Lockett, a medical doctor in infectious diseases, told The Sun Online how bats could well be the source of the next pandemic.
He told us: “The species that could harbour Disease X are bats and birds as both can fly and travel long distances.
“Bats’ migratory patterns can be disturbed leading to the spread of disease, as was seen in Australia a few years ago, when bats spread disease to humans.”
But Mr Lockett is more concerned about the damaging potential of birds.
Although there were no casualties in this outbreak, Mr Lockett added that if people hadn’t been social distancing, we would have likely seen a bird flu epidemic in humans this year.
He told The Sun Online: “On balance between bats and birds, I suspect birds win.
“Birds can pass the infection between migratory species like ducks and fowls.
“There has been an ongoing bird flu epidemic among birds in the background to the Covid epidemic. Many small holders have been told to keep their birds indoors.
“I suspect the reason we have not seen a bird flu epidemic among humans this year is due to social distancing.”
He added: “In the case of birds, it is not just the encroachment of habitat, but global warming will change the migratory patterns and lead to a spread of disease to areas not normally associated with bird flu.”
As well as Russia, bird flu outbreaks have been found in India and the UK in the last month.
World's worst pandemics
THESE are the most deadly disease outbreaks in history - with many times the death toll than currently being unleashed by Covid.
Black Death – Somewhere between 75 and 200million people lost their lives – up to 60 per cent of the entire population of Europe – when the plague ravaged the continent from 1346 to 1353.
It was most likely passed to humans via fleas which were feeding on black rats on trade ships in the Mediterranean before spreading across Europe and North Africa.
Spanish Flu – As the world attempted to recover from the horror of the Great War in 1918, a disaster which killed twice as many people as the conflict emerged with Spanish Flu.
Somewhere between 17million and 100million people died during the pandemic which lasted until 1920 – but there is currently no consensus as to where the virus originated, although it appears to have avian genes.
Plague of Justinian – Believed to be the same bacteria responsible for the Black Death, the plague ravaged Europe and West Asia killing between 15milion and 100million people in 541 and 542AD.
It is believed to have been spread by rats carrying fleas as well – spreading into the Byzantine Empire via grain ships arriving from Egypt.
HIV/AIDs Pandemic – Still ravaging parts of the world, its estimated some 35million people have been killed by the insidious virus since 1981.
It is believed to have jumped from primates to humans and was potentially first spread by the bushmeat trade.
The Third Plague – The Bubonic plague struck again in China in 1855 from where it spread and killed up to 15million people.
WHO estimated the bacteria was running rampant until 1960 – with only then the pandemic ending, and they continue to closely monitor any outbreaks of the plague.
Many diseases are thought to have infected humans through the consumption of contaminated meat, including Covid-19, Ebola and SARS.
Wet markets in China have been described as epicentres for the transmission of potential pandemics, where live animals including bats are slaughtered and sold to customers.
Bush meat markets in Africa offering a similar kind of service have been blamed for epidemics such as ebola.
Dr Settele told The Sun Online: “Wet markets and bush meat markets increase the risk of new diseases spreading because of the close proximity of animals from the same but also of different species, and the direct presence of a large number of groups.”
However, he also warned how the next pandemic could come from anywhere in the animal kingdom.
He added: “In principle any species could be a source. The probability is higher for groups where there are more species like rats and bats.
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Environmental writer John Vidal, who is working on a book revealing the links between nature and disease, predicted the world faces a new Black Death-scale pandemic.
Given the popularity of air travel and global trade, a virus could rampage across the world, unknowingly spread by asymptomatic carriers, “in a few weeks, killing tens of millions of people before borders could be closed”, he adds.
He said: “Mankind has changed its relationship with both wild and farmed animals, destroying their habitats and crowding them together – and the process… is only accelerating.
“If we fail to appreciate the seriousness of the situation, this present pandemic may be only a precursor to something far graver still.”