Prioritizing Diseases for Public Health in Emergency Contexts: A WHO Initiative

Dear Colleagues,

Globally, the number of potentially pathogenic microorganisms is very large, while resources for disease Research and Development (R&D) are limited. To ensure that efforts are targeted and productive, the World Health Organization (WHO) has compiled a list of priority diseases and pathogens for R&D in emergency contexts. These diseases represent the greatest risk to public health due to their pandemic-epidemic potential and/or the absence or insufficiency of countermeasures. This systematic approach explicitly aims to enable early and cross-cutting R&D preparation, also relevant for an unknown «Disease X». It represents the realization that a major international threat could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown as a cause of human disease.  At present, the priority infectious diseases are: (I) Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); (II) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS); (III) Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS); (IV) Nipah & Henipaviral Diseases; (V) Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF); (VI) Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever (MHF); (VII) Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever (LHF); (VIII) Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF); (IX) Rift Valley Fever (RVF); (X) Zika Fever; (XI) Monkeypox; (XII) Plague. The scope of this Special Issue is therefore R&D in all these diseases to ensure progress in the interest of mankind and future generations, who in turn must absolutely respect the animals and nature around us following the One Health approach to avoid the outbreak of the aforementioned «Disease X».

Prof. Dr. Luca Roncati
Guest Editor

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