Viral Trends in 2023: Examining the Most Prevalent and Dangerous Pathogens of the Year

Prevalent pathogens bring new concerns about biosafety and biosecurity. A medical consultation is a must for those who somehow experience the impact of any pathogen on their health. Since it’s a global threat international biorisk management is being leveraged to fight both existing and upcoming pathogens.

To better find solutions to this problem BSL-3 (Biosafety Level 3 ) and BSL-4 (Biosafety Level 4) laboratories operate across the globe․ They usually research either indigenous or exotic microbes that can lead to serious or lethal diseases through inhalation.

As mentioned in The Global BioLabs Report 2023 the number of BSL4 labs has grown by 10 in two years. However, those are either in operation, either under construction or planned.

The World Health Organization has developed a roadmap of priority pathogens that contain risks of future outbreaks and pandemics. Though the updated list is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2023, the complete list of diseases is now available.

If you’re also worried about this global issue, keep reading this blog where we’ve covered some of the pathogens that may go viral in 2023.

COVID-19

Known as coronavirus Covid19 is an acute respiratory virus that was first discovered in China in 2019 leading to a global pandemic. Since then 761,402,282 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide.

Covid19 makes a vivid impact on the human body such as difficulty thinking or concentrating, loss of smell or taste, sleep problems, etc.

SARS-CoV-2 is considered to be the virus pathogen and its new variants continue to emerge. Since it’s possible to get reinfected by Covid19, there’s a high risk of a repetitive pandemic.

Crimean-Cong haemorrhagic fever

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever that’s typically transmitted by ticks. It leads to severe viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, with a 10–40% of a case fatality rate.

CCHF is usually transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals. It’s also possible to get infected by human-to-human contact through blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids.

This virus is widespread in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Asia. There’s currently no vaccine available for people and animals.

Ebola virus disease

Ebola virus disease is another animal-borne virus caused by wild animals.Till now scientists don’t know the exact origin of ebola. Still, it can be transmitted from one person to another if it touches infected body fluids.

It’s mostly spread in Africa and its main symptoms are similar to flu with other ones including tummy pain, blood in the poo, bruises on the body, and many more.

If you’re traveling to a country where proven Ebola virus cases exist, better apply for a doctor consultation before your trip to avoid becoming the next target.

Lassa fever

Coming as another animal-borne virus, Lassa fever is caused by African rats. People usually get infected with Lassa fever when they deal with things or food contaminated with the urine or feces of infected Mastomys rats.

The case-fatality rate is as low as 1% but in case of severe clinical presentation, it may reach up to 15%.

Lassa fever requires prompt medical treatment. In many cases, it’s also symptom-free. As reported by WHO, 80% of patients infected with this virus experience no symptoms.

Final thoughts

Though the above-mentioned pathogens don’t showcase the complete list of viral trends in 2023 they still provide useful information to keep an eye out and protect yourself.

One thing that gives enormous importance to this phenomenon is that each of these viruses may lead to a global pandemic in case of poor risk management, low healthcare assistance, and public awareness.

If you suspect that you are a carrier of any of these viruses, or are concerned about being infected don’t hesitate to consult a doctor for some professional advice and a treatment plan if needed. With MedicusUnion you can book doctor consultations online attending through video calls. With this, we help you reduce social interaction, which in this case may carry risks of increasing the potential infection chain.

It’s fast, simple, and affordable. Book your next consultation with highly professional European doctors on our platform and