Top Pathogens for Which New Vaccines are Needed

As part of the Immunisation Agenda 2030, a World Health Organization (WHO) study published today in eBioMedicine named 17 pathogens that regularly cause diseases in communities as top priorities for new vaccine development.

In five out of six WHO regions, annual child deaths and contribution to antimicrobial resistance were the most heavily weighted criteria.

“Too often global decisions on new vaccines have been solely driven by return on investment, rather than by the number of lives that could be saved in the most vulnerable communities,” said Dr Kate O’Brien, Director of the Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Department at WHO, in a press release on November 5, 2024.

Pathogens where vaccines are approaching regulatory approval, policy recommendation, or introduction

• Dengue virus
• Group B Streptococcus
• Extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB)
• RSV

Pathogens where vaccine research is needed

• Group A streptococcus
• Hepatitis C virus
• HIV-1
• Klebsiella pneumoniae

Pathogens where vaccines need to be further developed

• Cytomegalovirus
• Influenza virus (broadly protective vaccine)
• Leishmania species
• Non-typhoidal Salmonella
• Norovirus
• Plasmodium falciparum (malaria)
• Shigella species
• Staphylococcus aureus

This global prioritization exercise for endemic pathogens complements the WHO R&D blueprint for epidemics, identifying priority pathogens that could cause future epidemics or pandemics.