Yesterday the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO) urged scientists and political leaders to bolster global research to prepare for the next pandemic by focusing on families of pathogens as well as on individual infectious microbes.
The clarion call comes alongside a meeting report released by the WHO called, "Pathogens prioritization: a scientific framework for epidemic and pandemic research preparedness," which outlines the findings of a global pathogen-prioritization process involving more than 200 scientists from more than 50 countries who evaluated the evidence related to 28 viral families and one core group of bacteria—1,652 pathogens all told.
The experts emphasized the importance of expanding research to encompass entire families of pathogens—in addition to specific pathogens—that can infect people. The approach proposes using prototype pathogens as guides to develop the knowledge base for entire pathogen families. The effort began in late 2022.
Zeroing in on the highest-risk pathogens
"Thousands of known viruses and bacteria can infect humans, but only a relatively small number have caused pandemics or large-scale epidemics in history," the authors of the report wrote.
"Family Expert Groups (FEGs) were established for 28 viral families and one for bacteria. The expectation was that there would be enough common ground within each FEG to allow consensus to emerge and to provide a basis for defining the risks associated with the various pathogens in each family and for selecting priority pathogens, prototype pathogens, and potential Pathogen X."
After multiple consultations, the experts attended a prioritization meeting held in early May in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to fine-tune a strategy that advocates for research spanning various pathogen families based on their pandemic potential. The experts' strategy emphasizes research and development efforts aimed at readiness for both anticipated and unanticipated threats by focusing on entire families, prototype pathogens, and priority pathogens.
The expert groups developed tables that listed pathogens by family and highlighted specific worrisome pathogens within each family. They also rated the families and individual pathogens from low to high based on their potential to cause a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
The continuous revision of this strategy will facilitate the ongoing assessment of risks associated with emerging infectious diseases and advancements in scientific research.
They also produced tables for pathogen families and select pathogens, ranked by PHEIC potential, for each global region.
"The continuous revision of this strategy will facilitate the ongoing assessment of risks associated with emerging infectious diseases and advancements in scientific research," the experts wrote in the report. "The global health landscape is subject to constant evolution, with the potential emergence of new pathogens and evolution in the threat levels posed by existing ones."
Tools that can be quickly adapted
In a joint news release, CEPI and the WHO said, "This approach aims to create broadly applicable knowledge, tools and countermeasures that can be rapidly adapted to emerging threats. This strategy also aims to speed up surveillance and research to understand how pathogens transmit and infect humans and how the immune system responds to them.
"The report's authors likened its updated recommendation to imagining scientists as individuals searching for lost keys on a street (the next pandemic pathogen). The area illuminated by the streetlight represents well-studied pathogens with known pandemic potential. By researching prototype pathogens, we can expand the lighted area, gaining knowledge and understanding of pathogen families that might currently be in the dark.
"The dark spaces in this metaphor include many regions of the world, particularly resource-scarce settings with high biodiversity, which are still under monitored and understudied. These places might harbour novel pathogens, but lack the infrastructure and resources to conduct comprehensive research."
Richard Hatchett, MD, the CEO of CEPI, said, "WHO's scientific framework for epidemic and pandemic research preparedness is a vital shift in how the world approaches countermeasure development, and one that is strongly supported by CEPI."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said, "History teaches us that the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if. It also teaches us the importance of science and political resolve in blunting its impact.
"We need that same combination of science and political resolve to come together as we prepare for the next pandemic. Advancing our knowledge of the many pathogens that surround us is a global project requiring the participation of scientists from every country."
History teaches us that the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if.
To facilitate the effort, the WHO is engaging research institutions worldwide to establish a Collaborative Open Research Consortium for each pathogen family, with a WHO Collaborating Center acting as the research hub for each family.
