2020 was of course one of the most dreadful years that mankind has ever faced, all thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that wreaked havoc on the world. While economies tinkered and people lost livelihoods — there was still a ray of hope of a vaccine, that has finally come true.
Things are slowly going back to normalcy. However, experts and scientists warn that there might be more infectious disease which can lead to the next pandemic in the future. Here we list some infectious diseases that can be as deadly as the Covid-19.
1.Ebola
Ebola is an extremely dangerous disease that is considered to be much deadlier than the coronavirus. It only spreads through close contact between people through the exchange of bodily fluids or coming in contact with the infected person’s feces, blood, or vomit. There have been several outbreaks of this epidemic in the western part of Africa. Vaccine for the same has been approved as of now.
2.Marburg virus
Marburg virus belongs to the Ebola family and has the capacity to kill as many as 88 percent of people it infects. The virus also spreads in the same manner as Ebola does. There are huge chances of it spreading during the burial process of the dead infected from the virus. Regional epidemics of this virus did kill almost 90 percent of the 200 people it infected in Africa.
3.Rift Valley Fever
This disease is generally caused by mosquito-bite and occurs mostly in animals. But when humans come in contact with bodily fluids of infected animals like blood and milk — humans can also get infected. Thereafter, they may develop symptoms like blindness, muscle ache, and swelling of the brain. There has been a minor outbreak of this disease in South Africa. While 250 people got infected, 25 people succumbed to it. Besides that, extreme weather conditions also aggravate the spread of this disease.
4.Nipah virus
Nipah is another deadly virus that can kill up to 75 percent of people it infects. Similar to other viruses, it is highly associated with animals especially with the bats in south-east Asia. The virus spreads when humans come in contact with infected pigs or consume contaminated food (food contaminated with bat’s bodily fluids such as urine, blood, etc). The symptoms of the infection include extreme brain swelling which can cause headache, stiff neck, vomiting, and coma.
5.Lassa fever
Lassa fever is a viral infectious illness that can easily be transmitted through the urine and feces of Mastomys rats which are indigenous to Africa. Lassa fever often causes small regional epidemics in parts of Africa while almost killing 1-15 percent of the infected people. It can also lead to the loss of hearing post-recovery.