List of NIAID Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases

NIAID Category A, B, and C Priority Pathogens

Group I—Pathogens Newly Recognized in the Past Two Decades

Acanthamebiasis
Australian bat lyssavirus
Babesia, atypical
Bartonella henselae
Ehrlichiosis
Encephalitozoon cuniculi
Encephalitozoon hellem
Enterocytozoon bieneusi
Helicobacter pylori
Hendra or equine morbilli virus
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis E
Human herpesvirus 8
Human herpesvirus 6
Lyme borreliosis 
Parvovirus B19

Group II—Re-emerging Pathogens

Enterovirus 71
Clostridium difficile
Mumps virus
Streptococcus, Group A
Staphylococcus aureus 

Group III—Agents with Bioterrorism Potential

NIAID—Category A

• Bacillus anthracis (anthrax)
• Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism)
• Yersinia pestis (plague)
• Variola major (smallpox) and other related pox viruses
• Francisella tularensis (tularemia)
• Viral hemorrhagic fevers
• Arenaviruses
  • LCM, Junin virus, Machupo virus, Guanarito virus
  • Lassa Fever
• Bunyaviruses
  • Hantaviruses
  • Rift Valley Fever
• Flaviruses
  • Dengue
• Filoviruses
• Ebola
• Marburg

NIAID—Category B

• Burkholderia pseudomallei
• Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
• Brucella species (brucellosis)
• Burkholderia mallei (glanders)
• Chlamydia psittaci (Psittacosis)
• Ricin toxin (from Ricinus communis)
• Epsilon toxin of Clostridium perfringens
• Staphylococcus enterotoxin B
• Typhus fever (Rickettsia prowazekii)
• Food- and waterborne pathogens
• Bacteria
• Diarrheagenic E.coli
• Pathogenic Vibrios
• Shigella species
• Salmonella
• Listeria monocytogenes
• Campylobacter jejuni
• Yersinia enterocolitica)
• Viruses (Caliciviruses, Hepatitis A)
• Protozoa
• Cryptosporidium parvum
• Cyclospora cayatanensis
• Giardia lamblia
• Entamoeba histolytica
• Toxoplasma
• Fungi
• Microsporidia
• Additional viral encephalitides
• West Nile virus
• LaCrosse
• California encephalitis
• VEE
• EEE
• WEE
• Japanese Encephalitis virus
• Kyasanur Forest virus

NIAID—Category C
Emerging infectious disease threats such as Nipah virus and additional hantaviruses.

NIAID priority areas:

• Tickborne hemorrhagic fever viruses
• Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus
• Tickborne encephalitis viruses
• Yellow fever
• Multidrug-resistant TB
• Influenza
• Other Rickettsias
• Rabies
• Prions
• Chikungunya virus
• Severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV)
• Antimicrobial resistance, excluding research on sexually transmitted organisms*
• Research on mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance

• Studies of the emergence and/or spread of antimicrobial resistance genes within pathogen populations

• Studies of the emergence and/or spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens in human populations

• Research on therapeutic approaches that target resistance mechanisms

• Modification of existing antimicrobials to overcome emergent resistance
• Antimicrobial research, as related to engineered threats and naturally occurring drug-resistant pathogens, focused on development of broad-spectrum antimicrobials
• Innate immunity, defined as the study of non-adaptive immune mechanisms that recognize, and respond to, microorganisms, microbial products, and antigens

• Coccidioides immitis (added February 2008)

• Coccidioides posadasii (added February 2008)

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