We have just faced a global pandemic that has claimed more than 7 million lives. The Covid-19 disease was only successfully fought after a vaccine was developed immediately. The World Health Organization (WHO) this week has also published a list of 17 pathogens that most urgently need vaccines to be developed.
The top three pathogens on the list cause more than 2.5 million deaths each year through HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Although there are currently vaccines for tuberculosis and malaria, the development of new vaccines needs to be developed as pathogens are increasingly resistant to antimicrobial treatment.
The list is published by the WHO because the importance of vaccine development depends on the profit that can be generated and not on the goal of eliminating the most dangerous diseases. With this list of 17 most dangerous pathogens research priorities and immunization program needs in low and middle income countries can be done with the development and uptake of priority vaccines can be accelerated.
The list of 17 pathogens most in need of vaccines according to WHO is as below.
Pathogens require vaccine development studies
Streptococcus Group a
Hepatitis C virus
HIV-1
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Pathogens that require the development of vaccines are developed
Cytomegalovirus
Influenza virus (broadly protected vaccine)
Leishmania species
Salmonella is not typhoid
Norovirus
Plasmodium falciparum (malaria)
Shigella species
Staphylococcus aureus
Pathogens for which vaccines are approaching regulatory approval, policy recommendation or identification
Dengue virus
Streptococcus group B
Extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)