The High Council for Public Health (HCSP) defines hygiene measures for the prevention of the main infectious diseases in the general population. Recently, he published a report relating to the establishment of a list of priority infectious diseases.
To carry out this work, the method chosen was the multi-criteria decision analysis recommended by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). A list of 95 entities (diseases or groups of infectious diseases) was thus drawn up by 17 experts from the HCSP. To classify these entities, 10 evaluation criteria were notably defined: potential for emergence and diffusion, incidence, lethality, individual impact, societal impact, impact on socially vulnerable populations, impact on the health system, unmet needs in terms of prevention, curative treatment and health vigilance (even 2 quantitative criteria and 8 qualitative criteria).
Thus, 14 entities were identified as high priority by the HCSP. This includes World Health Organization (WHO) disease X, defined as a hypothetical epidemic condition due to an unknown pathogen. Also on the list are infections linked to bacteria that are multi-resistant to antibiotics, proof of the importance of antibiotic resistance if it were necessary to remind us. Also present are viral hemorrhagic fevers, all respiratory viruses, arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes, invasive meningococcal and pneumococcal infections, prion diseases, rabies and even tuberculosis.
Note that this study confirms the choices recommended on the research priorities defined by the ANRS-MIE or on the international epidemiological surveillance priorities recommended by the WHO.
