The World Health Organisation, WHO, has told the planet to be ready for a disease deadlier than COVID-19.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gave the warning on Monday while unveiling a new global scheme to spot and track the most dangerous pathogens during an annual meeting of its 194 member states in Geneva, Switzerland.

Speaking with the World Health Assembly forum on the threat of a new public health crisis that could not be kicked ‘down the road’, Tedros stated that despite the darkest days of the pandemic being consigned to history, a doomsday COVID-19 variant with the power to send the world back to square one could still spawn.

The threat of another variant emerging that causes new surges of disease and death remains. And the threat of another pathogen emerging with even deadlier potential remains,” he said.

Although, no specific diseases were named. But ‘Disease X’ — a place-holder given to a devastating pathogen not yet discovered — is on the UN agency’s list of pressing threats.

Dr Tedros’ comments come weeks after WHO declared that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency of international concern. Instead, the virus is now considered an ‘established and ongoing health issue.