Most Dangerous Pathogens

Top Emerging Diseases Likely to Cause Major Epidemics: WHO

The current list of disease priorities needing urgent R&D attention comprises: Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease and Marburg, Lassa fever, MERS and SARS coronavirus diseases, Nipah and Rift Valley fever, according to World Health Organization (WHO).

Scientists and public health experts met in Geneva this week to prioritize the top emerging pathogens that are “likely to cause severe outbreaks in the near future, and for which few or no medical countermeasures exist.”

Experts who prepared the list represented a range of disciplines, including “virology, microbiology, immunology, public health, clinical medicine, mathematical and computational modelling, product development, and respiratory and severe emerging infections,” according to the report.

Photo Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
This highly-magnified, digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) reveals ultrastructural details at the site of interaction of numerous yellow-colored Middle East respiratory syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) viral particles that were on the surface of a Vero E6 cell, which had been colorized blue.

MERS-CoV spreads between people who are in close contact including transmission from infected patients to healthcare personnel. Clusters of cases in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UK, France, Tunisia, and Italy are being investigated. [NAIAID – 2014]

In addition to the top eight pathogens listed above, three other diseases have been designated as “serious,” requiring R&D as soon as possible. These arechikungunya, severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome, and Zika.

“Other diseases with epidemic potential – such as HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Avian influenza and Dengue – were not included in the list because there are major disease control and research networks for these infections, and an existing pipeline for improved interventions,” said WHO.

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Infectious Diseases Kill 1,448 Chinese in October: Report

EMERGING & RE-EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
DEADLY CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
SCENARIOS 993, 797, 444, 080, 011, 01
.

Infectious Diseases kill 1,448 Chinese, sicken more than 608,000 in October

[Reported cases of] infectious diseases in mainland China killed  at least 1,448 people and sickened more than 609,000 people in October, Xinhua quoted the health officials as saying.

Plague, a Category A infectious disease, killed at least two people, said the report.

Infectious diseases in Category B were responsible for the bulk of the fatalities (1,421 cases reported), with Hepatitis, tuberculosis, syphilis, dengue and diarrhea being the deadliest.

Category C infectious diseases killed 25 people in October, said China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) classifies the Emerging Infectious Diseases in categories A, B and C as follows:

Category A pathogens are those organisms/biological agents that pose the highest risk to national security and public health because they

• Can be easily disseminated or transmitted from person to person
• Result in high mortality rates and have the potential for major public health impact
• Might cause public panic and social disruption
• Require special action for public health preparedness

Category A Priority Pathogens

• Bacillus anthracis (anthrax)
• Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism)
• Yersinia pestis (plague)
• Variola major (smallpox) and other related pox viruses
• Francisella tularensis (tularemia)
• Viral hemorrhagic fevers
  • Arenaviruses
    • Junin, Machupo, Guanarito, Chapare (new in FY14), Lassa, Lujo (new in FY14)
  • Bunyaviruses
    • Hantaviruses causing Hanta Pulmonary syndrome, Rift Valley Fever, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
  • Flaviruses
    • Dengue
  • Filoviruses
    • Ebola
    • Marburg

Category B pathogens are the second highest priority organisms/biological agents. They

• Are moderately easy to disseminate
• Result in moderate morbidity rates and low mortality rates
• Require specific enhancements for diagnostic capacity and enhanced disease surveillance

Category B Priority Pathogens

• Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis)
• Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
• Brucella species (brucellosis)
• Burkholderia mallei (glanders)
• Chlamydia psittaci (Psittacosis)
• Ricin toxin (Ricinus communis)
• Epsilon toxin (Clostridium perfringens)
• Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB)
• Typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii)
• Food- and waterborne pathogens
  • Bacteria
    • Diarrheagenic E.coli
    • Pathogenic Vibrios
    • Shigella species
    • Salmonella
    • Listeria monocytogenes
    • Campylobacter jejuni
    • Yersinia enterocolitica
  • Viruses
    • Caliciviruses
    • Hepatitis A
  • Protozoa
    • Cryptosporidium parvum
    • Cyclospora cayatanensis
    • Giardia lamblia
    • Entamoeba histolytica
    • Toxoplasma gondii
    • Naegleria fowleri (new in FY14)
    • Balamuthia mandrillaris (new in FY14)
  • Fungi
    • Microsporidia
• Mosquito-borne encephalitis viruses
  • West Nile virus (WNV)
  • LaCrosse encephalitis (LACV)
  • California encephalitis
  • Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE)
  • Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE)
  • Western equine encephalitis (WEE)
  • Japanese encephalitis virus (JE)
  • St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV)

Category C pathogens are the third highest priority and include emerging pathogens that could be engineered for mass dissemination in the future because of

• Availability
• Ease of production and dissemination
• Potential for high morbidity and mortality rates and major health impact

Category C Priority Pathogens

• Nipah and Hendra viruses
• Additional hantaviruses
• Tickborne hemorrhagic fever viruses
  • Bunyaviruses
    • Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome virus (SFTSV), Heartland virus
  • Flaviruses
    • Omsk Hemorrhagic Fever virus, Alkhurma virus, Kyasanur Forest virus
• Tickborne encephalitis complex flaviviruses
  • Tickborne encephalitis viruses
  • European subtype
  • Far Eastern subtype
  • Siberian subtype
  • Powassan/Deer Tick virus
• Yellow fever virus
• Tuberculosis, including drug-resistant TB
• Influenza virus
• Other Rickettsias
• Rabies virus
• Prions
• Chikungunya virus
• Coccidioides spp.
• Severe acute respiratory syndrome associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), MERS-CoV, and other highly pathogenic human coronaviruses (new in FY14)
• Antimicrobial resistance, excluding research on sexually transmitted organisms*
  • Research on mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance
  • Studies of the emergence and/or spread of antimicrobial resistance genes within pathogen populations
  • Studies of the emergence and/or spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens in human populations
  • Research on therapeutic approaches that target resistance mechanisms
  • Modification of existing antimicrobials to overcome emergent resistance
• Antimicrobial research, as related to engineered threats and naturally occurring drug-resistant pathogens, focused on development of broad-spectrum antimicrobials

*NIAID Category C Antimicrobial Resistance—Sexually Transmitted Organisms Excluded

• Bacterial vaginosis, Chlamydia trachomatis, cytomegalovirus, Granuloma inguinale, Hemophilus ducreyi, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, herpes simplex virus, human immunodeficiency virus, human papillomavirus, Neisseria gonorrhea, Treponema pallidum, Trichomonas vaginalis