Disease X is caused by pathogen X, an unknown infectious agent that can potentially trigger an epidemic or pandemic. Pathogen X might be any pathogen, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and prions. WHO uses the term ‘Disease X’ for any new emerging disease caused by an unknown pathogen X. Disease X stands for any possible future pandemic in WHO’s shortlist of high-priority diseases. This review looks at the manifestations of the recent COVID-19 epidemic as the first Disease X to evaluate what has happened and to learn from what went wrong in India and worldwide. To this end, a summary is presented of response measures by governments, often lacking flows of information, discrepancies in the views of experts and decisions of policymakers, and undesirable variations in individual and collective behavior and their consequences. The elements of combating Disease X in a world with considerable inequalities in relevant knowledge, expertise, information, quality of governance, and financial possibilities are discussed. Based on this, recommendations are given for an innovative global pandemic preparedness system.

Introduction: Kawasaki disease is an acute vasculitis of unknown etiology. The epidemiological data available for Nepal remains insufficient. In Nepal, Kawasaki disease has only been reported in cases of brief reports, leaving the true disease burden unknown. Many cases go undiagnosed and untreated due to a lack of knowledge regarding this entity. The objective of this study was to find the prevalence of Kawasaki disease in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal from 2013 to 2018 after taking ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. The sample size was calculated and the consecutive sampling method was done. Data collection and entry was done in Microsoft Excel, point estimate at 99% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. Results: The overall prevalence of Kawasaki disease was found to be 0.1% among 11,416 patients under the age of 5 years admitted in pediatrics ward. There were 4 (33.33%) cases of complete Kawasaki and 8 (66.67%) cases of incomplete Kawasaki. There were 9 (75%) males and 3 (25%) females and the male to female ratio was 3:1. There was a male preponderance. The age at diagnosis ranged between 4 and 60 months. The median age at diagnosis was 10.5 months. The most common presentation was fever, conjunctivitis, rash, and oral changes. Conclusions: Prevalence of Kawasaki disease was found to be lesser compared to other studies done in other countries. Knowledge of Kawasaki disease among Nepalese pediatricians should be enhanced to guarantee the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Mollaret’s meningitis is an aseptic recurrent benign lymphocytic meningitis lasting 2-5 days and occurs over years with spontaneous complete resolution of symptoms between episodes. An 88 years-old-male presented with acute onset headache, lethargy and altered sensorium after a recent ear infection. He had multiple similar episodes in the past, each preceded by ear or sinus infection with cerebrospinal fluid finding consistent with aseptic meningitis. However, no specific causative agent was ever identified. He was confused, disoriented and lethargic with normal vitals and systemic examination. Blood tests showed leukocytosis with neutrophilia. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed increased cell count with lymphocyte predominance, elevated protein and negative polymerase chain reaction. Magnetic resonance imaging of brain showed chronic small vessel ischemic changes. He fulfilled the Bruyn’s criteria for clinical diagnosis. He was empirically administered acyclovir during hospitalization and was discharged without prophylactic antiviraldue to negative cerebrospinal fluid analysis, culture, and multiplex polymerase chain reaction.

Background: Choledochal cysts are dilated portions of the biliary tract that account for 1% of all benign biliary diseases. It is prevalent among Asian and female populations and the incidence is 1:100,000–150,000. Among the different types, only 15–35% of all choledochal cysts are type IV cysts, with type I being the most common representing 50–80%. Clinical presentation and therapy of biliary cysts (BC) differ depending on the type. Case: We present a case of a 2-year-old male who presented with non-specific symptoms of multiple episodes of vomiting. Laboratory investigations revealed raised alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase. His symptoms of acute pancreatitis were resolved with conventional therapy. Ultrasonography of the abdomen showed intra and extra-hepatic cystic biliary tree dilatation suggestive of choledochal cyst Type IV A. Conclusions: Choledochal cysts present with clinical features varying with age and anatomical variants and can pose challenges in management that can be addressed by surgery to avoid further complications.

Congenital upper limb deficiency care and management have undergone drastic changes over the past 50 years. Given the low incidence of this defect nationwide, this case report adds to the existing database to analyze the etiological investigations, descriptive epidemiology, and trend detection. We present a case of a 2-month-old male child with congenital upper limb deficiency and explore the possible etiologies and difficulties during early diagnosis of such rare disorders in a low and middle-income countrries and present implications at the primary health care level to improve the prognosis. Poor nutrition during pregnancy due to an unplanned pregnancy is a possible cause. The prognosis is unfavourable due to sociocultural barriers. To address these limitations, it is pertinent to address disability-adequate knowledge among communities, promote early diagnosis, and timely rehabilitation using a multidisciplinary approach. Further, we provide a framework to optimize care.