The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has released a new reference tool to help guide preparedness efforts against the pathogens that could “pose the greatest risk to public health”.
The Priority Pathogen Families Research and Development Tool, which will be updated every year, currently lists 24 pathogen families where investment into research and development of diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines in England may be most needed.
This includes pathogens that may be exacerbated by antimicrobial resistance or a changing climate.
UKHSA’s chief scientific officer, Isabel Oliver, said: “This tool is a vital guide for industry and academia, highlighting where scientific research can be targeted to boost UK preparedness against health threats.”
Each pathogen family has been given a rating of high, moderate or low pandemic and epidemic potential, informed by the opinions of scientific experts within UKHSA, who have considered routes of transmission and disease severity.
Among the families noted to have high pandemic and epidemic potential are the coronaviridae family, which includes COVID-19; the paramyxoviridae family, which includes the Nipah virus; and the orthomyxoviridae family, which includes avian influenza, or bird flu.
The families are not ranked, and the UKHSA has outlined that research and development efforts across a range of other pathogen families not on this list “also remains vital”.
Oliver said: “We are using the tool as part of our conversations with the scientific community, to help ensure that investment is focused to where it can have the biggest impact.
“We hope this will help to speed up vaccine and diagnostics development where it is most needed, to ensure we are fully prepared in our fight against potentially deadly pathogens.”
The announcement comes just days after the UKHSA said it had expanded its list of diseases and pathogens that medical professionals and diagnostic laboratories in England are required to report.
The update, which follows a public consultation and assessment conducted jointly by UKHSA and the Department of Health and Social Care, is aimed at strengthening local and national surveillance, and enhancing infectious disease outbreak response capabilities.