Similarly to other research groups that initiated processes for setting priorities [2, 8, 13] , we found the compilation of the data necessary for the scoring process to be challenging due to a limited availability of reliable and published information. Participants did not find it easy to maintain sufficiently broad judgements despite the highly specialized expertise and focused research interest of some experts. Some degree of subjectivity can therefore never be avoided. Another limitation of our study was the difficulty to appropriately account for the decreasing trends of vaccinepreventable diseases that followed successful implementation of effective prevention programmes. Therefore, relatively low scoring of the respective pathogens for some of the criteria should not question the need to maintain adequate surveillance capacity for these illnesses.