{"id":24580,"date":"2025-03-25T00:38:56","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T01:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=24580"},"modified":"2025-03-25T02:26:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T02:26:42","slug":"uk-draws-up-new-disease-threat-watch-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=24580","title":{"rendered":"UK draws up new disease-threat watch list"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-0 haItSe\">\n<div class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-1 cjDa-dM\">47 minutes ago<\/p>\n<p><!--$!--><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 oYtVL dRvUPz dXDmtS\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 iQJDhl cCYQUA kItbpD\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Save<\/span><\/button><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-12 fcCDwR\">\n<div class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-5 evAEAB\">\n<div><span class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-7 kItaYD\">Michelle Roberts<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Digital health editor, BBC News<!-- --><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--$!--><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 oYtVL dRvUPz dXDmtS\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 iQJDhl cCYQUA kItbpD\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Save<\/span><\/button><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 ejjhCR\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bf9cfe60-08c2-11f0-bd8a-514f22c23b84.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Getty Images Close up image of Oropouche virus that causes Oropouche fever\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><span class=\"sc-a34861b-2 hesJxn\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">The UK has a new watch list of 24 infectious diseases that could pose the greatest future threat to public health. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Some are viruses with global pandemic potential &#8211; like Covid &#8211; while others are illnesses that have no existing treatments or could cause significant harm. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Avian, or bird, flu is on the list, as well as mosquito-spread illnesses that may become common with rising temperatures from climate change, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">The aim is to steer scientists and investors into making new tests and vaccines or medicines in preparation. <!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"sc-518485e5-0 DkKTF\">&#8216;Global effort&#8217;<!-- --><\/h2>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">There is no ranking within the list, since threats constantly change, UKHSA chief scientific officer Prof Isabel Oliver says. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">And it will be updated at least once a year, to avoid a repeat of the Covid pandemic, where experts had been planning for an entirely different outbreak &#8211; influenza. <!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;When Covid arrived, it took too long to adjust our response to a different threat, which was part of the reason we ended up in lockdown,&#8221; Prof Mark Woolhouse, director of the Tackling Infections to Benefit Africa, University of Edinburgh, said.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;Since the pandemic, there have been many initiatives to better understand the diversity of pandemic threats that the UK and the world may face in the coming years.  <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;The UKHSA&#8217;s pathogen prioritisation exercise is a welcome contribution to this global effort.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"sc-518485e5-0 DkKTF\">&#8216;Highly spreadable&#8217;<!-- --><\/h2>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">A family of viruses called Paramyxoviridae, which includes measles, is on the list.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">And this was the type of pandemic threat public-health agencies around the world were most worried about, Prof Woolhouse said.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">A novel measles-like virus would be highly spreadable and &#8220;impossible to control by even the strictest lockdown&#8221;, making it &#8220;a threat far worse than Covid.&#8221;  <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;It would also be considerably more deadly and, unlike Covid, it would be a [major] threat to children,&#8221; Prof Woolhouse said.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Prof Oliver said the UKHSA would consult animal-health colleagues for future updates, since many new and emerging outbreaks were zoonotic disease that jumped species to infect humans. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Some bacteria also feature, including those such as gonorrohoea where resistance to existing antibiotic treatments is becoming an issue.<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"sc-518485e5-0 DkKTF\">The list of 24 diseases or pathogens<!-- --><\/h2>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<ul class=\"sc-5c9c90b0-0 ggNdZQ\">\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Adenovirus<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Lassa fever<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Norovirus<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Mers<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Ebola (and similar viruses, such as Marburg)<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Flaviviridae (which includes dengue, Zika and hepatitis C)<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Hantavirus<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Flu (non-seasonal, including avian)<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Nipah virus<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Oropouche<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Rift Valley fever<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Acute flaccid myelitis<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Human metapneumovirus (HMPV)<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Mpox<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Chikungunya<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Anthrax<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Q fever<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Enterobacteriaceae (such as E. coli and <!-- --><i id=\"yersinia-pestis\" class=\"sc-7dcfb11b-0 kKcaog\">Yersinia pestis<!-- --><\/i>, which causes plague)<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Tularaemia<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Moraxellaceae (which cause lung, urine and bloodstream infections)<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Gonorrhoea<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Staplylococcus<!-- --><\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-8d73edac-0 ezcCTE\">Group A and B Strep<!-- --><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>47 minutes ago<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24580"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24584,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24580\/revisions\/24584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}