The continuing challenge of infectious diseases
In 2019, 2540 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 2290–2810) disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were attributed to non-communicable and communicable diseases and injuries globally.1 In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the IHME Pathogen Core Group have now estimated a burden of 704 million (610–820) DALYs to be associated with 85 pathogens (encompassing causative agents, pathogen groups, infectious diseases, and aggregate categories),2 or more than a quarter (27·7%) of all DALYs attributable to disease and injury, in 2019.