The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed 17 bacteria, viruses and parasites that regularly cause disease as top priorities for new vaccine development.

WHO, in a study published yesterday, reconfirmed long-standing priorities for vaccine research and development (R&D), including for HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis – three diseases that collectively take nearly 2.5 million lives yearly.

The study is the first global effort to systematically prioritize endemic pathogens based on their regional and global health impact.

Attention is also given to pathogens such as Group A streptococcus, which causes severe infections and contributes to 280,000 deaths from rheumatic heart disease, mainly in lower-income countries.

Another new priority is Klebsiella pneumoniae — a bacteria that was associated with 790,000 deaths in 2019 and is responsible for 40 per cent of neonatal deaths due to blood infection (sepsis) in low-income countries.

The new study supports the goal of ensuring that everyone, everywhere, can benefit from vaccines that protect against serious diseases.

It aims to shift the focus in vaccine development away from commercial returns towards regional and global health needs, WHO’s Dr Mateusz HassoAgopsowicz, who works in vaccine research, said in a statement.

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