HQ Team
November 5, 2024: Malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis were among a list of 17 disease-causing pathogens where vaccines need to be developed as a priority to reduce regional disease burden, according to the World Health Organization.
A WHO study — the first global effort to systematically prioritise endemic pathogens based on criteria that included regional disease burden, antimicrobial resistance risk and socioeconomic impact — stated the three diseases collectively killed about nearly 2.5 million people a year.
It identified pathogens such as Group A streptococcus and Klebsiella pneumoniae as top disease control priorities in all regions and highlighted the urgency to develop new vaccines for pathogens increasingly resistant to antimicrobials.
The list provides an evidence base to set regional and global agendas for new vaccine research and manufacturing and is intended to give academics, funders, manufacturers and countries a clear direction for where vaccine research and development could have the most impact.
Driven by profits
“Too often global decisions on new vaccines have been solely driven by return on investment, rather than by the number of lives that could be saved in the most vulnerable communities,” said Dr Kate O’Brien, Director of the Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Department at the WHO.
“This study uses broad regional expertise and data to assess vaccines that would not only significantly reduce diseases that greatly impact communities today but also reduce the medical costs that families and health systems face,” she said.
WHO asked international and regional experts to identify factors that were most important to them when deciding which vaccines to introduce and use.
The analysis of those preferences, combined with regional data for each pathogen, resulted in the top 10 priority pathogens for each WHO region.
The regional lists were then consolidated to form the global list, resulting in 17 priority endemic pathogens for which new vaccines need to be researched, developed and used.
Future pandemics
This global prioritization exercise for endemic pathogens complements the WHO R&D blueprint for epidemics, which identified priority pathogens that could cause future epidemics or pandemics, such as COVID-19 or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The WHO global priority list of endemic pathogens for vaccine research and development also supports the Immunization Agenda 2030’s goal of ensuring that everyone, in all regions, can benefit from vaccines that protect them from serious diseases.
The 17 pathogens where vaccine research was needed include, Group A streptococcus, Hepatitis C virus, HIV-1 and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Further development was needed for pathogens such as Cytomegalovirus, Influenza virus (broadly protective vaccine), Leishmania species, Non-typhoidal Salmonella, Norovirus, Plasmodium falciparum (malaria), Shigella species and Staphylococcus aureus.
Dengue virus
Pathogens, where vaccines were approaching regulatory approval or policy recommendation or introduction, included Dengue virus, Group B streptococcus, Extra-intestinal pathogenic E.Coli, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The findings of this new report on endemic pathogens are part of WHO’s work to identify and support the research priorities and needs of immunisation programmes in low- and middle-income countries and to inform the global vaccine R&D agenda.
It aimed to inform stakeholders to strategically advance the development and uptake of priority vaccines, particularly against pathogens that cause the largest public health burden and greatest socioeconomic impact.
