“The priority pathogens, published in a report on 30 July, were selected for their potential to cause a global public-health emergency in people, such as a pandemic. This was on the basis of evidence showing that the pathogens were highly transmissible and virulent, and that there was limited access to vaccines and treatments.The WHO’s two previous efforts, in 2017 and 2018, identified roughly a dozen priority pathogens,” a Nature report says.
More than 200 scientists spent some two years evaluating evidence on 1,652 pathogen species — mostly viruses, and some bacteria — to decide which ones to include on the list.
The new list of pathogens includes influenza A virus, dengue virus and monkeypox virus. It also has several strains of influenza A viruses, including subtype H5, which has recently caused an outbreak in cattle in the United States. Five new bacterial strains have been added, responsible for diseases such as cholera, plague, dysentery, diarrhea, and pneumonia.
Nipah virus, cases of which have been found in India recently, is also there on the list.
Priority pathogen and prototype pathogen
The UN Health Agency has released the list of priority pathogens, which are those pathogens that have the potential to cause a global health emergency.
It has also released a list of prototype pathogens, “which could act as model species for basic-science studies and the development of therapies and vaccines,” explains the Nature report.
The priority pathogens in South-East Asia region are: Vibrio cholera O139, Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1, Henipavirus nipahense, Bandavirus dabieense, Orthoflavivirus denguei and zikaense and Alphavirus chikungunya.
The prototype pathogen Orthohepadnavirus hominoidei genotype C is most common in the South-East Asia Region.
WHO’s preparedness to tackle Pathogen X
The WHO says: By prioritizing research on entire pathogen Families as opposed to a handful of individual pathogens, this strategy bolsters the capability to respond efficiently to unforeseen variants, emerging pathogens, zoonotic transmissions, and unknown threats such as ‘Pathogen X.’ Pathogen X is a term used to denote an unidentified or unspecified pathogen, with the potential to induce a public health emergency of international concern or pandemics in the future.
Why are alcohol and tobacco use more common risk factors for oral cancer in men than women?
