The World Health Organization (WHO) published for the first time a list with 61 vaccines in stages of clinical development against drug-resistant bacteria and warned that, although some candidates are in advanced stages, the majority will not be available in the short term. term. Therefore, the organization called "to accelerate the processes" to respond to this global problem.
"The silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major and growing public health problem. Resistant bacterial infections alone are associated with nearly 4.95 million deaths per year, with 1.27 million deaths directly attributed to AMR," the WHO explained in a statement.
In addition to resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, AMR also includes resistance of viruses, fungi and parasites that change over time and no longer respond to medications.
"When a person is infected with these microbes, the infection is said to be resistant to antimicrobial medications. These infections are often difficult to treat," the agency explained. In that sense, he noted that "vaccines are powerful tools for preventing infections in the first place and therefore have the potential to slow the spread of AMR infections."
In this context, the agency presented the report with the analysis of the vaccines in development "with the aim of guiding investments and research."
"Preventing infections through vaccination reduces antibiotic use, which is one of the main drivers of AMR. However, of the six main bacterial pathogens responsible for AMR deaths, only one, pneumococcal disease (Streptococcus pneumoniae ) has a vaccine," said Hanan Balkhy, WHO deputy director general for antimicrobial resistance.
The document also calls for equitable and global access to vaccines that already exist, especially among populations who need them most in resource-limited settings.
Vaccines are already available against four bacterial pathogens that the WHO defined as priorities to treat: pneumococcal disease (Streptococcus pneumoniae), Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), Tuberculosis (mycobacterium tuberculosis) and Typhoid fever (SalmonellaTifo).
Of these, "the current Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine against tuberculosis does not adequately protect and the development of a more effective one must be accelerated."
Regarding "the remaining three vaccines are effective and we need to increase the number of people who receive them to contribute to a reduction in antibiotic use and prevent more deaths," the statement said.
The report also examines some of the challenges facing vaccine innovation and development, including pathogens associated with hospital-acquired infections (HAI).
Among them, the difficulty in defining target populations among all patients admitted to the hospital; the cost and complexity of vaccine efficacy trials; and the lack of regulatory and/or policy precedents for HAI vaccines.
"Vaccine development is expensive and scientifically challenging, often with high failure rates, and for successful candidates, complex regulatory and manufacturing requirements require more time. We need to take the lessons from Covid vaccine development and accelerate our search for vaccines to address AMR," said Kate O’Brien, director of WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.
