Disease X: What Is It?

COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on us all. Not just economically, but physically and mentally too. All facets of our lives have changed since what was defined as a pneumonia-like illness came out of the blue and left us in quarantine and isolation. 

While I have previously made light of the situation by writing a somewhat puff piece on what to do when you find yourself in quarantine, I believe it would be best to prepare ourselves for another epidemic. Unfortunately, the game is more like a Russian roulette. A blind gamble. You do not know what could attack next. Small pox? Tuberculosis? Malaria? Cholera? Influenza? Swine flu? Bird flu? Ebola? Chicken pox? 

In Algebra class, X is usually used as the value of an unknown number. In this case, we do not really know what the disease could be. It could be a previously undiscovered species of bacteria, virus or parasite. It could be a species we know. It could be a species we heard of before but it never really affected human beings, but now it is crossing the species barrier. What are my guesses?

So far, there have been cases of influenza hitting quite hard when the season comes around. While the isolation and quarantine served to protect us from COVID, it also lowered our collective immunity towards things like the common cold and flu. Now these two are whipping us into submission and we are struggling. 

Could Disease X be one of these two? To be honest, I do not know. What I do know, though, is that it could be a re-emerging infection, something we previously triumphed over. Or it could be a completely new disease from an organism that could be quickly taking advantage of the rise in the global temperature to multiply and then attack when we least expect. 

We are faced with an uphill task after the backsliding COVID-19 has put us through. On the positive side though, the illness made us realise that our world was heavily polluted (by sound, light, chemicals, radioactive and biological matter). It also brought to the forefront hybrid models for education and work. People were able to be more flexible and achieve more. On the downside, it has not only left us more vulnerable, but also taken a lot of people with it. Plus taxes went up when the world started to embrace the new normal leading to inflation. Everything is a mess and we are all trying to rebuild and this also opens the door for more stress-related illnesses to pop out of the wood-work. 

This means that mental health should be receiving a bigger spotlight. There have been reports of people becoming more depressed after lock downs and even developing other mental health conditions that they previously did not seem to have. Maybe this could be another derivative of Disease X? 

It will be a waiting game now. To see what will materialise out of the shambles we found ourselves in after 2020. Here's to everyone that's hanging in there and making time to learn how to take care of themselves. I wish you the best as 2023 comes to an end. Take care of yourself and your family and friends. Love one another and keep each other safe.