WHO Identifies 17 Pathogens Needing Urgent Vaccine Development

Why in the news?

The WHO has prioritised 17 pathogens for new vaccine development to address rising antimicrobial resistance and public health risks, especially in vulnerable communities across low- and middle-income countries.

WHO Identifies 17 Pathogens Needing Urgent Vaccine Development

About WHO’s New Global Priority List for Vaccine Development:

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a list of 17 priority pathogens that urgently require new vaccines.
  • This global effort aims to address endemic diseases that regularly affect communities, especially in low- and middle-income regions.
  • The study, published in eBiomedicine, was a joint effort involving international experts who prioritised diseases based on factors like disease burden, antimicrobial resistance risk, and socio-economic impact.

Key Pathogens Identified as Priorities

  • Some high-priority pathogens identified include Group A Streptococcus, causing throat and skin infections, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, known for hospital-acquired pneumonia.
  • These pathogens contribute significantly to public health challenges and often demonstrate antimicrobial resistance, complicating treatment.
  • WHO’s prioritisation exercise complements its ID (Infectious Disease) blueprint for epidemics and builds on existing initiatives targeting HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, which collectively claim millions of lives annually.

Clarification of “Rules of the Game”:

  • Justice Manoj Misra explained that the “rules of the game” refer to the eligibility criteria and the method of selection.
  • Recruitment processes must follow the prescribed eligibility criteria and selection methods, ensuring transparency, fairness, and rationality.
  • The recruitment process starts with the advertisement and ends with the filling of vacancies, adhering strictly to the existing rules and procedures.

Understanding Pathogens and Types:

  • Definition: Pathogens are organisms that cause disease, typically affecting the body when the immune system is weakened or they invade sterile body areas.
  • Transmission: Spread through skin contact, bodily fluids, airborne particles, contaminated surfaces, and faeces.

Types of Pathogens:

  • Viruses:
    • Composed of genetic material (DNA/RNA) and a protein coating.
    • Invade host cells to replicate, damaging or destroying cells.
    • Common infections: common cold, flu, HIV, chickenpox, hepatitis.
    • Not treatable by antibiotics; antiviral medications used for some viruses.
  • Bacteria:
    • Single-celled organisms, some pathogenic.
    • Can live in various environments, including the human body.
    • Treated with antibiotics.
    • Common infections: strep throat, tuberculosis, food poisoning.
  • Fungi:
    • Found indoors, outdoors, and on skin.
    • Can cause infections when overgrown.
    • Example infectio ns: athlete’s foot, thrush, Candida auris.
  • Parasites:
    • Live on or inside a host, feeding off it.
    • Found more in tropical/subtropical regions .
    • Types: Protozoa (single-celled), Helminths (worms), Ectoparasites (insects like ticks, mosquitoes).
    • Example diseases: malaria, trichomoniasis.

Sources Referred:

PIB, The Hindu,Indian Express, Hindustan Times