CRITICAL PRIORITY
PATHOGENS - SCI & TECH
News: WHO updates Bacterial
Pathogens Priority List as critical priority pathogens continue to present
major global threat
What's in the news?
●
The latest Bacterial Pathogens Priority List (BPPL)
updated by the World Health Organization (WHO) notes that critical priority
pathogens pose major global threats because of their high burden and their
ability to resist treatment and spread resistance to other bacteria.
Critical Priority
Pathogens:
●
They are bacteria
that pose significant global health threats because they can resist current
treatments and spread their resistance to other bacteria.
World Health
Organization’s Updated List:
●
The WHO has updated its Bacterial Pathogens
Priority List (BPPL).
●
It includes 15
families of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Classification of the
BPPL:
●
Critical Priority Groups
●
High Priority Groups
●
Medium Priority Groups
High Burden in Specific
Regions:
●
The list highlights that certain high-priority
pathogens like Salmonella and Shigella
carry a particularly high burden in low and middle-income countries.
●
These pathogens pose major challenges in healthcare
settings.
Resistance to
Antibiotics:
●
These pathogens include gram-negative bacteria that
are resistant to last-resort antibiotics and Mycobacterium tuberculosis
that is resistant to Rifampicin which is a key antibiotic.
Challenges Associated
with Critical Priority Pathogens:
●
Pathogens like antibiotic-resistant Neisseria
gonorrhoeae and Enterococcus faecium are known for causing persistent
infections and showing resistance to multiple antibiotics.
●
This necessitates targeted research and public
health interventions.
Go back to basics:
Antimicrobial Resistance
(AMR):
●
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and
parasites no longer respond to medicines.
●
This makes infections harder to treat and increases
the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death.
● The misuse and overuse of antimicrobials are significant drivers of AMR.