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The Wellcome Sanger Institute’s Genomic Surveillance Unit (GSU) and Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) announce a new partnership to coordinate the genomic surveillance of infectious diseases globally.

Building on genomic surveillance success during the pandemic, this close collaboration will track more pathogens in more places

Genomic surveillance laboratories in the UK and South Africa, renowned for their work identifying new variants during the COVID-19 pandemic, have joined forces to identify emerging threats from infectious diseases.

This close relationship will allow teams in the UK and South Africa to share resources, coordinate strategies, and powerfully support partners in disease surveillance globally. Their ambitious international plans will allow scientists to monitor more pathogens in more places, including viruses carried by mosquitoes, water-borne diseases, respiratory viruses and other diseases with pandemic potential.1

Genomic surveillance continuously monitors the genetic changes and evolution of pathogens — viruses, bacteria, parasites — and their animal vectors, such as mosquitoes. This provides an early warning system for drug or vaccine resistance, indicates geographical spread, and alerts researchers and public health officials to the emergence of new diseases. The data are then used to inform public health responses at national and international levels.

While the technologies to track disease at a genomic level have been under development for decades, the power of genomic surveillance for public health decision-making was clearly recognised during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teams at the Sanger Institute and Stellenbosch University identified new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and quickly fed information to partners in public health2, which led to near-real-time policy change. This new collaboration builds upon experience gained during the pandemic as well as decades-long legacies in the genomic surveillance of malaria, HIV, and other diseases.3

In light of the many factors driving up the threat from infectious diseases — climate change, habitat loss, urbanisation, globalisation — the development of genomic surveillance technology is more critical than ever.

In order to strengthen the new partnership, Professor Tulio de Oliveira, who founded and leads CERI and was the team leader on the discovery of the Omicron variant, will also join the GSU in the role of Deputy Director.

Read More: https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/leading-uk-and-south-african-genomics-labs-unite-to-take-disease-surveillance-beyond-covid/

News date: 2024-02-04

Links:

https://www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/leading-uk-and-south-african-genomics-labs-unite-to-take-disease-surveillance-beyond-covid/