The number of diseases that could start the next pandemic has increased to 30, which is an alarming development.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the influenza A virus, dengue virus, and monkeypox virus as "priority pathogens" in an updated list.
This list aims to support research and development activities for medications, vaccines, and diagnostics.
The list was created using data that showed the infections were extremely contagious and virulent, and that there was no viable therapy at this time.
Ana Maria Henao Restrepo, head of the WHO's R&D Blueprint for Epidemics, said, "The prioritization process helps identify critical knowledge gaps that need to be addressed urgently."
An immunologist from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Neelika Malavige, who was part of the endeavour, stated that amid turbulent world events, it was imperative to revisit the list.
More than 200 experts evaluated 1,652 disease species in the past two years, primarily viruses and some bacteria.
They identified 30 priority diseases to be added to the list after conducting a thorough analysis, including Merbecovirus, which includes the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that started the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The list now includes the monkeypox virus, which in 2022 caused a worldwide outbreak of the disease.
Despite being eliminated in 1980, its relative, the variola virus, which causes smallpox, has also been included. Since people are no longer immunized against it, they are not growing immune to it.
Malavige warned that the virus can be utilized "by terrorists as a biological weapon."
Six influenza A viruses are included, among them H5, the virus that caused an outbreak in cattle in the United States.
Additionally, two infections that spread from person to person have been included. Scientists also noted that rapid urbanization and climate change might make it more likely for these viruses to spread widely.
