Towards a genomics-informed, real-time, global pathogen surveillance system

作者：Jennifer L. Gardy, Nicholas James Loman · 发表于：Nature Reviews Genetics · 年份：2017 · DOI：10.1038/nrg.2017.88 · 被引用次数：834 · 研究领域：Zoonotic diseases and public health、Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research、Viral Infections and Vectors

Next-generation sequencing has the potential to support public health surveillance systems to improve the early detection of emerging infectious diseases. This Review delineates the role of genomics in rapid outbreak response and the challenges that need to be tackled for genomics-informed pathogen surveillance to become a global reality. The recent Ebola and Zika epidemics demonstrate the need for the continuous surveillance, rapid diagnosis and real-time tracking of emerging infectious diseases. Fast, affordable sequencing of pathogen genomes — now a staple of the public health microbiology laboratory in well-resourced settings — can affect each of these areas. Coupling genomic diagnostics and epidemiology to innovative digital disease detection platforms raises the possibility of an open, global, digital pathogen surveillance system. When informed by a One Health approach, in which human, animal and environmental health are considered together, such a genomics-based system has profound potential to improve public health in settings lacking robust laboratory capacity.