• UGI USER
  • May 20, 2024
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“WHO WARNS CRITICAL PRIORITY PATHOGENS POSE AN ESCALATING GLOBAL HEALTH THREAT.”

Why in the news?

  • WHO’s updated BPPL highlights global threats from critical priority pathogens.
  • Includes 15 antibiotic-resistant bacteria families, categorized as critical, high, and medium priority.
  • Focus on gram-negative bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to last-resort antibiotics.
source:edumind

About Bacterial Pathogens Priority List (BPPL):

  • BPPL: WHO tool guiding vaccine and antibiotic development for high-threat bacteria.
  • Updates: Regularly revised to reflect changing bacterial infections.
  • Resource: Aids researchers, policymakers, and healthcare professionals in controlling bacterial infections globally.
About Antimicrobial Resistance:

  • Definition: AMR is resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobial drugs, making infections harder to treat.
  • Impact: Increases disease spread, severe illness, and death.
  • WHO: Identified as a top ten global health threat.
  • India: 56,000 newborn deaths annually due to resistant sepsis.
  • COVID-19: 50-60% mortality from hospital-acquired drug-resistant infections.
  • Global Spread: NDM-1 and multi-drug resistant typhoid originated from South Asia, affecting Africa, Europe, and Asia.

What are Fungal pathogens?

  • Threat: Fungal pathogens increasingly common, resistant to treatment.
  • Treatment: Only four antifungal medicine classes available; few new candidates.
  • Diagnostics: Rapid, sensitive diagnostics lacking; existing ones are expensive and scarce.
  • Incidence: Expanding globally due to warming and increased travel/trade.
  • Risks: Resistant fungi cause common infections, increasing invasive infection risks.