Call for public consultation - R&D roadmap for flaviviruses medical countermeasures

Flaviviruses - including dengue, Zika, yellow fever, West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis, and Japanese encephalitis viruses - infect more than 400 million people annually across expanding geographic regions. Despite the availability of vaccines for some flaviviruses, significant gaps remain in our understanding of viral biology, vector ecology, host–pathogen interactions, and immune mechanisms of protection and disease. Rapid urbanization, climate change, global mobility, and persistent socioeconomic inequalities are driving vector expansion and disease emergence, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated, global research efforts.

In response, the WHO R&D Blueprint for Epidemics team, under the 2024 Pathogens Prioritization Framework, launched the Collaborative Open Research Consortiums (CORCs). The Flaviviridae CORC is led by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Brazil. 

Development of this roadmap commenced on 24 February 2025 through an extensive consultative process. This included, among other activities, a series of three global thematic meetings that convened approximately 500 experts from 51 countries across five continents, with 54% of participants from low- and middle-income countries. Building upon the outcomes of these consultations, thematic coordinators and contributing researchers identified and prioritized the following research areas: