A DEADLY outbreak of a flu-like illness could kill 80 million people across the world in less than two days, experts have warned.

The world is not prepared for the “very real threat” of a pandemic, according to a panel led by the ex-chief of the World Health Organisation.

4 This graphic from a new report shows global examples of emerging and re-emerging diseases

In a stark report, 15 public health leaders criticised a “cycle of panic and neglect” which they say has characterised responses to health emergencies.

Scientists have previously warned about the possibility of an unknown deadly plague dubbed Disease X that could wipe out millions.

The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) today said the world is now at an “acute risk” of pandemics.

"The threat of a pandemic spreading around the globe is a real one," the group said in a report released on Wednesday.

"A quick-moving pathogen has the potential to kill tens of millions of people, disrupt economies and destabilise national security."

The report highlights the danger of a lethal respiratory pathogen, which could kill between 50 and 80 million people.

As the world has become more interconnected, such a pathogen could spread around the globe within 36 to 50 hours, the report says.

Newly emerging diseases by continent Europe Cryptosporidiosis - an intestinal disease caused by microscopic parasites

E.coli O104:H4 - a strain of bacteria that caused outbreak in Germany in 2011

Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) - brain disease caused by eating infected beef North America Enterovirus D68 - group of viruses that can cause polio and hand, food and mouth disease

Heartland virus - viral disease spread by infected tick bites

Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome - severe and sometimes fatal respiratory disease caused by infected rodents

Cryptosporidiosis

H3N2v influenza - strain of flu that started in pigs

Cyclosporiasis - intestinal illness caused by microscopic parasites

E. coli O157:H7 - form of the bacteria

2009 H1N1 influenza - swine flu

Bourbon virus - understood to be spread through tick or insect bite South America Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome Africa Human monkeypox - similar to smallpox transmitted from rodents or primates

Ebola virus

Zika virus

HIV

Hepatitis C Asia Akhmeta virus (AKMV) - a form of pox virus

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) - viral respiratory disease, sometimes known as camel flu

Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Bunyavirus (SFTSV) - a type of haemorrhagic fever

E. coli O157:H7 - strain of bacteria

H5N6 influenza - strain of bird flu

H10N8 influenza - strain of bird flu

H7N9 influenza - strain of bird flu

H5N1 influenza - strain of bird flu

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) - outbreaks in 2002 and 2004

Nipah virus - transmitted from animals, contaminated food or directly between infected people Australia Hendra virus - virus that infects large fruit bats that can be passed to horses and people

SOCIAL CHAOS

The unknown killer virus could wipe out nearly 5% of the global economy and lead to social chaos.

Epidemic-prone viral diseases like Ebola, flu and SARS are increasingly tough to manage in a world dominated by lengthy conflicts and forced migration, the report states.

While some governments and agencies have made efforts to prepare for disease outbreaks since the devastating 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that left over 10,o00 dead, those efforts are "grossly insufficient", the report said.

In the case of a pandemic, many national health systems - particularly in poor countries - would collapse.

"Poverty and fragility exacerbate outbreaks of infectious disease and help create the conditions for pandemics to take hold," said Axel van Trotsenburg, acting chief executive of the World Bank and a member of the panel.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said governments should invest in strengthening health systems.

He suggested boosting funds for research into new technologies, improving coordination and rapid communication systems, and monitor progress continually.

Re-emerging/re-surging diseases by continent Europe Marburg virus - hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola

Ebola virus - viral infection first detected close to the River Ebola North America Powassan virus - brain infection transmitted by ticks

West Nile virus - disease spread through mosquitoes

Measles

Human monkey-pox - similar to smallpox transmitted from rodents or primates

Listeriosis - bacterial infection that can cause sepsis, brain infection and death

Adenovirus 14 - acute respiratory illness dubbed the killer cold virus

Lyme disease - bacterial infection spread by ticks

MDR/XDR tuberculosis - drug-resistant tuberculosis

Chikungunya - virus is spread by infected mosquito bite

Acute flaccid myelitis - polio-like condition that affects the nervous system

Dengue fever - mosquito-borne tropical disease

Cholera - infection that causes severe diarrhoea caused by drinking contaminated water

Antimicrobial resistant threats: CRE MRSA C. difficile N. gonorrhoeae

South America Zika virus

Cholera

Drug-resistant malaria

Yellow fever - viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes Asia Diphtheria - highly contagious infection that can affect the nose, throat and skin

Typhoid fever - bacterial infection that can spread throughout the body, affecting many organs

MDR/XDR tuberculosis

Nipah virus

Cholera

Enterovirus 71

Drug-resistant malaria Africa Yellow fever

Ebola virus

Lassa fever - viral haemorrhagic illness transmitted from contact with bodily fluids of infected person

MDR/XDR tuberculosis

Chloera

Rift Valley fever - viral disease spread through contact with infected animals

Drug-resistant malaria

Plague - caused by bacteria usually found in small mammals and their fleas

Human African trypanosomiasis - insect-borne parasitic disease, also known as sleeping sickness

Marburg virus

WORLD IS 'NOT PREPARED'

The WHO also warned earlier this year that another pandemic of flu - which is caused by airborne viruses - is inevitable, and said the world should prepare for it.

The latest report cited the 1918 "Spanish flu" pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people.

Studies have shown most of the fatalities were among those under the age of 65.

The virus is thought to have used the body's own immune system to work against it.

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This caused fatal "cytokine storms" in victims - an overproduction of immune cells that can overwhelm the body.

The stronger the immune system, the more devastating the effects of the Spanish Flu on an infected person.

If Disease X spawns from an influenza strain it could have a similarly devastating effect on younger populations.

4 An outbreak of a flu-like illness could kill 80 million people across the world in less than two days, experts have warned Credit: Getty - Contributor

4 Some governments have made efforts to prepare for disease outbreaks since the devastating 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa Credit: Reuters

4 As many as 50 million people died worldwide as a result of the devastating Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918 Credit: Credit: Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo

UK Professor Tony Moore explains why killer fungal infection caused by germ Candida auris could potentially become a world-wide pandemic

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