WHO updates Bacterial Priority Pathogens List to combat antimicrobial resistance

Sub: Science and tech

Sec: Health

Context:

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released its updated Bacterial Priority Pathogens List (BPPL) 2024, featuring 15 families of antibiotic-resistant bacteria grouped into critical, high and medium categories for prioritization.

More on news:

Since the first Bacterial Priority Pathogens List was released in 2017, the threat of antimicrobial resistance has intensified, eroding the efficacy of numerous antibiotics and putting many of the gains of modern medicine at risk.

What is Bacterial Priority Pathogens List (BPPL)?

The list categorizes pathogens into critical, high, and medium priority groups to inform research and development (R&D) and public health interventions.
The 2024 WHO Bacterial Priority Pathogens List (WHO BPPL) is an important tool in the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.
The 2024 WHO BPPL updates and refines the prioritization of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens to address the evolving challenges of antibiotic resistance.

About the recent Bacterial Priority Pathogens List (BPPL) 2024:

The 2024 WHO BPPL covers 24 pathogens, spanning 15 families of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens.
The list features 15 families of antibiotic-resistant bacteria grouped into critical, high and medium categories for prioritization.
The list includes gram-negative bacteria resistant to last resort antibiotics, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to the antibiotic Rifampicin.
Other high-burden resistant pathogens such as Salmonella, Shigella, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus are included in the list.
Other high priority pathogens such as antibiotic-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Enterococcus faecium, present unique public health challenges.
Medium priority pathogens include Group A and B Streptococci (both new to the 2024 list), Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae, which present a high disease burden.

Classification:

The WHO BPPL 2024 includes the following bacteria:

Critical priority:

Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant;
Enterobacterales, third-generation cephalosporin-resistant; and
Enterobacterales, carbapenem-resistant;
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, rifampicin-resistant (included after an independent analysis with parallel tailored criteria, and subsequent application of an adapted multi-criteria decision analysis matrix).

High priority:

Salmonella Typhi, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Shigella spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant
Enterococcus faecium, vancomycin-resistant
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant
Non-typhoidal Salmonella, fluoroquinolone-resistant
Neisseria gonorrhoeae, third-generation cephalosporin- and/or fluoroquinolone-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant

Medium priority:

Changes between the 2017 and 2024 lists:

The BPPL 2024 saw the removal of five pathogen-antibiotic combinations that were included in BPPL 2017, and the addition of four new combinations.
Third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales are listed as a standalone item within the critical priority category and emphasizes their burden and need for targeted interventions.
Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) infection moving from critical to high priority in BPPL 2024.

What is Antimicrobial Resistance?

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is an ability of a microbe to resist the effects of medication previously used to treat them. It is also known as antibiotic resistance.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to medicines, making people sicker and increasing the risk of disease spread, illness and deaths.
The WHO defines antimicrobial resistance as a microorganism’s resistance to an antimicrobial drug that was once able to treat an infection by that microorganism.
The resistance to antimicrobials is a natural biological phenomenon.