eBook: New Frontiers in Infectious Disease Research - 5

tablished by PCR Biosystems, which can confirm
diagnosis in under 70 minutes, and can distinguish
the viral subtype. This technology allows for
streamlined diagnostic testing and may eventually
be used for many other diseases.
Chapter 4 of this eBook covers the benefits and
limitations of mNGS and the changes to the mNGS
process that are required in order for the technology
to realize its potential to revolutionize the study,
diagnosis, tracking, and treatment of infectious
diseases. Specifically, we take an in-depth look at
Micronbrane Medical's Devin filter and PaRTI-Seq
assay, which when combined enable the fast and
accurate identification and monitoring of bacteria,
fungi, viruses, and parasites in both research and
clinical settings.
Concluding remarks
Pathogenic microbes will never stop evolving. Over
the last decade, in particular, the convergence of
global warming, more air travel, increased urbanization
into previously untouched habitats, and the
spread of misinformation over social media platforms
has helped to accelerate this process. Without
sufficient headway of technology, and practices
to prevent, or dampen the effects of future
pandemics, our species will grow increasingly vulnerable.
Vaccine innovation, rapid universal testing,
and improved mNGS are three ways science
continues to counter the trend of more infectious
disease flare-ups. Global awareness and increased
financial investment in outbreak response, such as
through the formation of the WHO Hub for Pandemic
and Epidemic Intelligence, are also critical to
alleviate future threats.
Access our entire eBook to learn more about these
exciting and necessary advances.
References
1. Forni D, Cagliani R, Clerici M, Sironi M. Diseasecausing
human viruses: novelty and legacy. Trends
Microbiol. 2022 Dec;30(12):1232-1242. doi: 10.1016/j.
tim.2022.07.002.
2. Bhadoria P, Gupta G, Agarwal A. Viral Pandemics in the
Past Two Decades: An Overview. J Family Med Prim
Care. 2021 Aug;10(8):2745-2750. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.
jfmpc_2071_20.
3. WHO coronavirus dashboard, https://covid19.who.int/
4. Baker, R.E., Mahmud, A.S., Miller, I.F. et al. Infectious
disease in an era of global change. Nat Rev Microbiol
20, 193-205 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/
s41579-021-00639-z
5. Mora, C., McKenzie, T., Gaw, I.M. et al. Over half of
known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated
by climate change. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 869-875
(2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01426-1
6. CDC, Estimated Flu-Related Illnesses, Medical Visits,
Hospitalizations, and Deaths in the United States -
2017-2018 Flu Season (2021), https://www.cdc.gov/
flu/about/burden/2017-2018.htm
7. Barr, I.G., Donis, R.O., Katz, J.M. et al. Cell culturederived
influenza vaccines in the severe 2017-2018
epidemic season: a step towards improved influenza
vaccine effectiveness. npj Vaccines 3, 44 (2018).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-018-0079-z
8. CDC, Cell-Based Flu Vaccines (2022), https://www.
cdc.gov/flu/prevent/cell-based.htm
9. WHO, WHO Director-General declares the ongoing
monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of
International Concern (2022), https://www.who.int/
europe/news/item/23-07-2022-who-director-generaldeclares-the-ongoing-monkeypox-outbreak-a-publichealth-event-of-international-concern
10.
CDC, CDC Health Update, Potential Risk for New Mpox
Cases (2023), https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023/
han00490.asp#:~:text=The%20projected%20risk%20
of%20a,or%20larger%20than%20in%202022
11. PCR Biosystems white paper
5

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35902319/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35902319/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34660399/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34660399/ https://covid19.who.int/ https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-021-00639-z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-021-00639-z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01426-1 https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2019-2020.html https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2019-2020.html https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-018-0079-z https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/cell-based.htm https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/cell-based.htm https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/23-07-2022-who-director-general-declares-the-ongoing-monkeypox-outbreak-a-public-health-event-of-international-concern https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/23-07-2022-who-director-general-declares-the-ongoing-monkeypox-outbreak-a-public-health-event-of-international-concern https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/23-07-2022-who-director-general-declares-the-ongoing-monkeypox-outbreak-a-public-health-event-of-international-concern https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/23-07-2022-who-director-general-declares-the-ongoing-monkeypox-outbreak-a-public-health-event-of-international-concern https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023/han00490.asp#:~:text=The%20projected%20risk%20of%20a,or%20larger%20than%20in%202022 https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023/han00490.asp#:~:text=The%20projected%20risk%20of%20a,or%20larger%20than%20in%202022 https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023/han00490.asp#:~:text=The%20projected%20risk%20of%20a,or%20larger%20than%20in%202022

eBook: New Frontiers in Infectious Disease Research

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of eBook: New Frontiers in Infectious Disease Research