United States: The World Health Organization (WHO) recently updated its list of priority pathogens, highlighting more than 30 viruses and bacteria that have the potential to cause the next global pandemic. This list, published on July 30, aimed to guide efforts in developing treatments, vaccines, and diagnostics.
Indeed, Neelika Malavige, an immunologist at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Colombo, Sri Lanka, said that this list covers all areas. She focuses more on the Flaviviridae family, the virus that causes the disease called dengue fever, and she said, as per nature.com.
The identified new priority pathogens are all known to be highly pathogenic and easy to spread, and they are also accompanied by very scarce protective vaccines or treatments. This initiative’s prior lists from 2017 and 2018 have revealed roughly a dozen pathogens.
Discussing the prioritization process, Ana Maria Henao Restrepo, the head of the WHO’s R&D Blueprint for Epidemics team, stated that such a focus contributes to specifying the main gaps in knowledge and coordinating the utilization of available resources.
Malavige further noted that periodic updates to the list are important as a result of these global changes, including climate change, deforestation, urbanization, and travel through different countries.
More than 200 scientists evaluated evidence on 1,652 pathogen species over two years to create this list. It includes the entire families of certain viruses and bacteria, broadening its scope, as per nature.com.
Notable additions include:
– Sarbecovirus, which includes SARS-CoV-2, and Merbecovirus, which includes the MERS virus.
– Monkeypox virus, due to its 2022 outbreak and potential as a biological weapon.
– Influenza A viruses, including subtype H5, which has caused outbreaks in cattle.
– Bacteria causing cholera, plague, dysentery, diarrhea, and pneumonia.
– Two rodent viruses and the bat-borne Nipah virus due to their potential for human transmission.
Many of these pathogens are currently confined to specific regions but could spread globally. Naomi Forrester-Soto from the Pirbright Institute noted that no single region is most at risk.
In addition to priority pathogens, researchers created a list of ‘prototype pathogens’ for basic science studies and the development of therapies and vaccines. According to virologist Malik Peiris, this approach can help prepare for future public health emergencies by developing treatments and vaccines that can work across virus families, according to reports by nature.com.
Forrester-Soto concluded that while the list is reasonable, some listed pathogens may never cause an epidemic, and unforeseen pathogens could emerge. She noted that predicting the next pathogen to cause a pandemic has proven challenging.