UK draws up new disease-threat watch list

The UK has a new watch list of 24 infectious diseases that could pose the greatest future threat to public health.

Some are viruses with global pandemic potential - like Covid - while others are illnesses that have no existing treatments or could cause significant harm.

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).

The aim is to steer scientists and investors into making new tests and vaccines or medicines in preparation.

"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," Prof Mark Woolhouse, director of the Tackling Infections to Benefit Africa, University of Edinburgh, said.

"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.

"The UKHSA's pathogen prioritisation exercise is a welcome contribution to this global effort."

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Source: BBC News, 25 March 2025