WHO publishes list of deadliest superbugs
Following increased concern for the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a list of 12 families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health.
The list of “priority pathogens”was drawn up to help promote research and development (R&D) of antibiotics.
Pathogens were selected on the basis of how deadly the infections they cause are; whether their treatment requires long hospital stays; how frequently they are resistant to existing antibiotics when people in communities catch them; how easily they spread between animals, from animals to humans, and from person to person; whether they can be prevented (e.g. through good hygiene and vaccination); how many treatment options remain; and whether new antibiotics to treat them are already in the R&D pipeline
To help highlight the risk of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, of which there is an urgent for new treatments, WHO have divided the list into three categories according to the urgency of need for new antibiotics: critical, high and medium priority.
Gram-negative bacteria are a particular threat as it is resistant to multiple antibiotics. These bacteria can find new ways to resist treatment and can cause other bacteria to become drug-resistant as well by passing along genetic material.
Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO's assistant director-General for Health Systems and Innovation said: "This list is a new tool to ensure R&D responds to urgent public health needs. Antibiotic resistance is growing, and we are fast running out of treatment options. If we leave it to market forces alone, the new antibiotics we most urgently need are not going to be developed in time."
The most critical group consist of multi-drug resistant bacteria that pose a threat in hospitals, nursing homes, and among patients whose care requires devices such as ventilators and blood catheters.
These bacteria can cause severe and often deadly infections such as bloodstream infections and pneumonia. These bacteria have become resistant to many antibiotics which treat multi-drug resistant bacteria such as carbapenems and third generation cephalosporins.
The high and medium priority categories contain drug-resistant bacteria that can cause more common diseases such as gonorrhoea and salmonella.
Hermann Gröhe, federal minister of Health, Germany said: “We need effective antibiotics for our health systems. We have to take joint action today for a healthier tomorrow. Therefore, we will discuss and bring the attention of the G20 to the fight against antimicrobial resistance. WHO’s first global priority pathogen list is an important new tool to secure and guide research and development related to new antibiotics."
WHO state that the list is intended to influence governments into putting in place policies that incentivise basic science and advanced R&D by both publicly funded agencies and the private sector investing in new antibiotic discovery.
The list in full can be viewed below:
Priority 1: Critical
- Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant
- Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant, ESBL-producing
Priority 2: High
- Enterococcus faecium, vancomycin-resistant
- Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant, vancomycin-intermediate and resistant
- Helicobacter pylori, clarithromycin-resistant
- Campylobacter spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant
- Salmonellae, fluoroquinolone-resistant
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae, cephalosporin-resistant, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Priority 3: Medium
- Streptococcus pneumoniae, penicillin-non-susceptible
- Haemophilus influenzae, ampicillin-resistant
- Shigella spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant