If researchers are to be believed, another pandemic might be on its way and will be here sooner rather than later. As flu and coronavirus have snatched away the spotlight, paramyxoviruses, a group of viruses have been brewing in the background, and have the potential to cause the next pandemic.
According to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, paramyxoviruses can lead to infections like Hendra virus, measles, mumps, Nipah virus and parainfluenza. Measles you may know caused a major pandemic in the past, with an average of 6,000 deaths each year before vaccine development, according to the Centres of Disease Control and Prevention.
Next Pandemic Is On The Way
As of 19 October 2023, the paramyxoviruses group has made the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) list which states virulent pathogens that have the potential to trigger the pandemic.
In addition to measles, mumps, and the newly famous Nipah virus, the list shared that clinicians should also watch out for other prototypes, such as:
- Cedar virus
- Canine distemper virus
- Human parainfluenza virus ⅓
- Menangle virus
The reason why this group of viruses are raising alarm bells is because they also spread through air, and are highly transmissible, like coronavirus. Moreover, most of the diseases in this group do not have a vaccine, despite being highly contagious and life-threatening. For example, Dr Rajeev Bahl, Director General (DG), Indian Council Of Medical Research (ICMR) shared that the Nipah virus has a much higher mortality rate of 40% to 75%, as compared to COVID-19 which has a mortality rate of 3%.
However, one saving grace is that paramyxoviruses do not fight hard against vaccines as their mutation rate is relatively lower than the common-cold-causing virus and coronavirus.
The NIAID shared that there is still a lot left for experts to learn about this virus group, especially because it has not received much focus, which has been assumed by the flu and coronavirus as of now. There needs to be heightened research to understand how paramyxoviruses move from species to species, or what kind of mutations can make these viruses more transmissible and escape vaccine immunity.
