[Research progress on the World Health Organization's priority pathogen list]

The acceleration of globalization and the increasing frequency of international travel have significantly heightened the risk of cross-border transmission of diseases and pathogens, making outbreaks of infectious diseases of international concern a major challenge in global public health. Concurrently, the global escalation of multidrug resistance in infectious pathogens poses an additional threat to human health. To effectively address potential future infectious disease outbreaks, the World Health Organization (WHO) has implemented the "Research and Development Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics" since 2015, with its core task being the assessment and identification of a prioritized list of pathogens. This article systematically reviews and analyzes the background, methodology, and main content of the priority pathogen lists in the "Research and Development Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics". Drawing on these priority pathogen lists, the article proposes measures and recommendations to strengthen the development of China's catalog of pathogenic microorganisms, resource acquisition, and preservation efforts.