IT WAS IN NOVEMBER 2022 THAT THE LAST COVID WARD was dismantled in the national capital. The largest of Delhi's 11 pandemic wards, the space in LNJP Hospital used to be overrun with anxious families, breathless patients and frantic doctors. Today, it has once again reverted to being a teaching classroom. The beds and equipment are gone, but the lessons of the pandemic remain. Doctors and scientists in the country remain on alert for the next major disease outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls it 'Disease X', expects it to be zoonotic (transmitted naturally from vertebrate animals to humans, or the reverse), and most likely an RNA virus. Its announcement has spurred research and predictions on when the next pandemic will hit the world.
Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS) director Rakesh Mishra, also the former director of the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), who is currently involved in surveying the country for novel viruses, says, "Covid isn't the only virus that's a worry. We have thousands of individual viruses of concern and millions that have not been discovered yet. We should not be looking at the next virus to emerge from another country either.
We have plenty of high-risk areas in India too where a novel virus can make the jump from an animal to a human host. The more human settlements start to spread into forested areas, the more we can expect an increase in likelihood of a new virus emerging in human beings." Kate Bingham, the former chair of the UK's vaccine taskforce, predicts that the next pandemic could be 20 times deadlier than Covid, claiming up to 50 million human lives. "If you look at the pattern of recent zoonotic viruses, from Nipah to Covid, they have all been contagious and all been harmful to human health. Even if the next virus is not a global pandemic, it can still do a lot of damage on a local scale. We need to be on our guard," adds Mishra.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 18, 2023-Ausgabe von India Today.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 18, 2023-Ausgabe von India Today.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
ARTS AND THE MAN
In his centenary year, F.N. Souza: The Archetypal Artist tries to make sense of the recurring themes in the artist’s work
The Reluctant Art Critic
Advertising executive, art critic and possible catalyst of the modern Indian art movement, Rudolf von Leyden was an intriguing figure in pre-Independence Bombay
PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST & POET
ANINDYO ROY’S THE VICEROY’S ARTIST IS A FICTIONALISED ACCOUNT OF EDWARD LEAR’S TRAVELS IN INDIA
Lady of the Light
This artist has transformed the humble bulb into a thing of beauty
S'more to Think Of
Called Marshmallow, this penthouse in Gurgaon with soft curves and plush aesthetics stays true to its name
A Marvelous Melange
From stylish living quarters to multipurpose adaptive space, this home in Mumbai turns every nook into a showstopper
TECH MEETS TEXTURE
Smart fabrics and intelligent textiles are changing the way we view home furnishings
Refresh and Revive
That old table, those cabinets or even the console can be given a new lease of life, one that is tailor-made to the latest trends
Standout Spaces
Want dramatic interiors but don’t know how? This home in Mumbai becomes a lesson in learning the nuances of adding magic inside.
Vernacular Wise
Forget international brands and design, the beauty and simplicity of local materials and ancient techniques is gaining momentum