Pathogen lists do not tell us what we need to do

Abstract

Brett-Major and others remind us that pathogen lists for emerging infectious diseases aid in the development of tools that target specific pathogens (e.g., vaccines) and help attract financial support. These lists tell us what we needtohave, not whatwe needtodo. The authors call for more research onwaystoprevent thesediseases (e.g., platform technologies for vaccines) and mitigate disease impact. Vaccines and new treatments that target individual pathogens have many limitations. However, we might save lives by treating patients with inexpensive generic drugs that target common features of the host response to infection. Undertaking research on this approach to treatment is what we need to do.