传染病的基因组监测

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus first identified in 1958. Historically, the monkeypox virus has caused sporadic human outbreaks in central and west Africa, with a mortality rate between 1% and 10%[1]. In the spring of 2022, outbreaks were observed in non-endemic countries of Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia. Public health surveillance efforts are underway in these countries to prevent the further spread of the monkeypox virus.

NGS is a valuable technology for genomic surveillance of infectious diseases such as monkeypox. Not only can NGS track the prevalence of mutant strains, but it can also identify novel mutations. As a result, scientists can now employ NGS-based technologies to detect low-frequency minority variants, multiple polymorphisms, and novel variants with speed and accuracy in a high-throughput format. These factors are vital in helping epidemiologists identify and characterize outbreak clusters, transmission routes, and mutations to prevent further spread.

Illumina is proud to have supported the global expansion of NGS capacity and capabilities for public health during the COVID pandemic. These resources can now be used for the surveillance of pathogens such as monkeypox virus, ebola virus, mycobacterium tuberculosis, and many others.