Poxviridae, the viral family that includes Monkeypox, is one of 24 infectious diseases on the list.
UK health officials have, for the first time, published a list of the disease-causing organisms that they believe pose the greatest threat to public health.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has released the 'priority pathogen' guide, to focus scientific research and speed up vaccine development in preparation for an outbreak or pandemic.
Deadly disease-causing organisms including Monkeypox, Ebola, and Norovirus are among 24 pathogen families on the list, that considers global health threats and threats specific to the UK population.
Scientists assessed the pandemic and epidemic potential of each group of pathogens, by looking at the severity of disease that they cause, the routes of transmission and previous pandemics. Each group was then given a rating of high, medium or low risk.
Coronaviridae, which includes COVID-19; orthomyxoviridae, which includes avian influenza; and paramyxoviridae, which causes the Nipah virus are classed as high risk for both epidemics and pandemics. An epidemic is an outbreak of an illness in a region. It becomes a pandemic when it spreads worldwide.
The list does not mean UKHSA thinks any one pathogen is most likely to cause the next pandemic, but it highlights areas it thinks require more scientific study and investment.
Dr Isabel Oliver, chief scientific officer for UKHSA, said: “We live at the time of increasing challenges and increasing risks from infectious diseases.
“But at the same time we have got, thanks to scientific advancement, better tools than we’ve ever had to protect health against these threats.
“Having said that there are areas where we still need more or better diagnostics, vaccines and medicines and therapeutics, and this tool has been designed to help inform the work of government research funders, but also our partners in industry and academia who are critical to the development of these tools that we so desperately need.”
The first report from the UK Covid Inquiry stated that, before 2020, there had been too much of a focus on the risk of an influenza pandemic, and then it took too long for officials to adjust to the threat posed by a different type of virus.
Dr Oliver said: 'This is an important lesson from from the Covid-19 pandemic, is that it is really important that we consider the breadth of potential threats to health, and that we continue to monitor the situation and flexibly respond to those.
'So our approach is very much to increase our resilience against all families of concern and to work with partners to advance resilience across all of these.'
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Among the UKHSA’s concerns is the distribution of disease-causing mosquitoes and ticks due to climate and environmental change. Dr Oliver said this was something the UKHSA was 'monitoring very closely'.
Information on whether vaccines are available, and if human-to-human transmission is likely is also included in the guide.