Ebola, Zika, and "Disease X": WHO Releases Its 2018 R&D Blueprint

​​The usual suspects, including the Ebola and Zika viruses, were joined by a mysterious newcomer, "disease X," on the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2018 R&D Blueprint of diseases. Diseases on the research and development list pose a public health threat because they risk causing an epidemic or because countermeasures are insufficient or nonexistent. Disease X represents the fact that a serious international epidemic could stem from a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease. X stands for "unexpected," according to a March 12, 2018, article from CNN.