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Metagenomic Analysis of Silage
Published on: January 13, 2017
Metagenomics-enabled microbial surveillance
Karrie K K Ko1,2,3,4,5, Kern Rei Chng1,6, Niranjan Nagarajan7,8
1Laboratory of Metagenomic Technologies and Microbial Systems, Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Abstract:
Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic include increased awareness of the potential for zoonoses and emerging infectious diseases that can adversely affect human health. Although emergent viruses are currently in the spotlight, we must not forget the ongoing toll of morbidity and mortality owing to antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens and to vector-borne, foodborne and waterborne diseases. Population growth, planetary change, international travel and medical tourism all contribute to the increasing frequency of infectious disease outbreaks. Surveillance is therefore of crucial importance, but the diversity of microbial pathogens, coupled with resource-intensive methods, compromises our ability to scale-up such efforts. Innovative technologies that are both easy to use and able to simultaneously identify diverse microorganisms (viral, bacterial or fungal) with precision are necessary to enable informed public health decisions. Metagenomics-enabled surveillance methods offer the opportunity to improve detection of both known and yet-to-emerge pathogens.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the threat of zoonoses and emerging infectious diseases. Innovative metagenomics surveillance can improve detection of diverse pathogens for better public health decisions.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Microbiology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the risk of zoonoses and emerging infectious diseases.
- Antimicrobial resistance, vector-borne, foodborne, and waterborne diseases continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality.
- Factors like population growth and global travel increase the frequency of infectious disease outbreaks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To address the limitations of current surveillance methods for infectious diseases.
- To highlight the need for innovative, user-friendly technologies for pathogen detection.
- To explore the potential of metagenomics for enhanced infectious disease surveillance.
Main Methods:
- Review of lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Discussion of challenges in current infectious disease surveillance.
- Introduction of metagenomics as a potential solution for pathogen detection.
Main Results:
- Current surveillance methods struggle to keep pace with the diversity and scale of microbial pathogens.
- Existing methods are often resource-intensive, limiting scalability.
- Metagenomics offers a promising approach for simultaneous identification of diverse microorganisms.
Conclusions:
- Enhanced surveillance is crucial for informed public health decisions.
- Innovative technologies are needed to overcome limitations in pathogen detection.
- Metagenomics-enabled surveillance can improve the detection of known and emerging pathogens.
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