UKHSA unveils Britain's first priority pathogens list
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published a list of the pathogens it believes pose the greatest risk to public health in Britain.
The list identifies 24 viral, bacterial and fungal diseases, ranging from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) to measles, that currently lack adequate vaccines, diagnostics or treatments – leaving Britain vulnerable to future outbreaks.
The new database of 'priority pathogens' was created to 'protect the UK against infectious diseases' and prioritise investment in vaccines and other solutions, said Prof Isabel Oliver, Chief Scientific Officer at UKHSA.
Among the viruses of greatest concern are MERS, Nipah virus, and avian flu – which is currently spreading rapidly through global animal populations and has infected at least 70 people in America and one person in the UK in the last year.
The list also classifies Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) – a rare, polio-like illness that attacks the spinal cord and causes paralysis in children – as having a 'high' pandemic and epidemic risk.
First detected in 2014, AFM has since caused sporadic cluster outbreaks among school-aged children. The virus, a type of enterovirus, spreads through respiratory droplets, similar to Covid-19, and is highly infectious.
In 2018, at least 40 confirmed cases of AFM were reported in the UK, mainly in children under 10. While some made a full recovery, others suffered permanent weakness or paralysis. No vaccines or treatments currently exist.
Several viruses carried by mosquitoes and ticks are included in the priority pathogens list, as rising temperatures create more favourable conditions for the insects to survive and spread diseases that were previously confined to tropical regions.
Among the key concerns are Zika virus, Oropouche virus, and dengue fever – the latter of which is predicted to become established in southern parts of England as soon as 2040.
'This list has been developed with the intention of strengthening resilience and biological security in the UK, and includes both global threats and threats that are already endemic in the UK,' Prof Oliver said. 'Infectious diseases don't respect borders,' she added.
Some experts have praised the new initiative, which the UKHSA has committed to 'updating regularly.'
A key criticism from the Covid Inquiry was that, before 2020, Britain's pandemic preparedness was too narrowly focused on the possibility of an influenza pandemic – leaving the country ill-equipped to handle other infectious threats capable of causing large-scale outbreaks.
'When Covid arrived, it took too long to adjust our response to a different threat, which was part of the reason we ended up in lockdown,' Mark Woolhouse, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at University of Edinburgh, said.
'Since the pandemic, there have been many initiatives to better understand the diversity of pandemic threats that the UK and the world may face in the coming years. The UKHSA's pathogen prioritisation exercise is a welcome contribution to this global effort,' Prof Woolhouse added.
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