The Viral Most Wanted
Join CEPI’s disease detectives as they investigate the viral families that have threatened human life for centuries.
The viruses that put humanity at greatest risk to date come from 25 or so virus families. It is these families that are most likely to produce the next deadly viral threat.
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The Papillomaviruses and Polyomaviruses
These viral families are notorious for their oncogenic potential - their ability to cause rare, aggressive and often deadly cancers.
The Phenuiviruses
The most infamous Phenuivirus, Rift Valley Fever, poses a significant threat to people and livestock causing serious disease and dangerous outbreaks.
The Parvoviruses and Hepeviruses
While viruses in these families are not significant pandemic threats, they pose serious disease and death risks for vulnerable populations—particularly pregnant women.
The Pneumoviruses and Adenoviruses
Among these viruses is a pervasive pathogen that infects nearly all babies and children worldwide at least once— sometimes twice—before they reach the age of two
The Rhabdoviruses
The most fearsome Rhabdovirus causes a killer infection which makes its victims foam at the mouth
The Caliciviruses, Reoviruses and Astroviruses
Attackers from these three viral families cause hundreds of millions of cases of severe diarrhoea and vomiting every year - many of them deadly.
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The Coronaviruses
The Arenaviruses
The Flaviviruses
The Paramyxoviruses
Matonaviruses and Togaviruses
The Nairoviruses
The Poxviruses
The Hantaviruses
The Retroviruses
The Filoviruses
The Orthomyxoviruses
The Picornaviruses
The 100 Days Mission
CEPI’s vision is for the world to be able to respond to the next Disease X with a new vaccine in 100 days. Achieving that goal could defuse the threat of a pathogen with pandemic potential.Learn more about how CEPI is helping the world prepare for future pandemics.