UK Genome predicts a ‘step change’ in tackling respiratory viruses.medical research

At the peak of the Covid pandemic, UK laboratories were sequencing thousands of Sars-CoV-2 genomes a day to track circulating variants and identify emerging variants. .

Now, researchers at the Sanger Institute have launched a project that could finally achieve something similar for the many other respiratory viruses that make us sick each year and fill hospital beds in the UK. doing.

The Respiratory Virus and Microbiome Initiative will lay the groundwork for large-scale genomic surveillance of multiple respiratory viruses, including influenza, RSV, adenovirus, and rhinovirus, as well as surveillance for emerging threats.

“What we did for Covid came out of the simple idea that we should do it for all respiratory viruses, because if we could understand these viruses better, we could Because it allows us to better understand the infection, said Ewan Harrison, Ph.D., of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, who is leading the initiative.

His team takes single respiratory samples from NHS patients and develops a genome sequencing method that will allow them to quickly identify which viruses are present. autumn.

Dr Katherine Hyams of the University of Bristol, who studies how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the spread of respiratory viruses, said:

Existing UK surveillance programs track specific viruses such as influenza and Covid by testing representative samples of patients with respiratory infections using virus-specific PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests . But PCR tests work by looking at the known DNA sequence of a particular virus. If you are not looking for that virus, or if the DNA sequence of the virus has been altered, the virus will not be detected.

If a patient’s symptoms are severe enough to require hospital treatment, they may be tested for certain viruses to guide treatment. However, there is currently no single test that can detect all respiratory viruses, and patients can have multiple infections at once, potentially missing other infections.

So-called “metagenomic sequencing” circumvents this problem by reading the sequences of all genes present in the sample. These sequences are then compared to genetic databases to identify the organisms present.

“This allows us to detect not only known viruses, but also new viruses or viruses that have mutated and gone undetected. [standard PCR tests]said Antonia Ho, an infectious disease consultant and clinical senior lecturer at the MRC-University of Glasgow Center for Virus Research.

The Sanger team works closely with our partners in the UK. health The Security Agency and other public health agencies transform this real-time data into strategies that help keep people healthy and reduce strain on NHS beds.

Knowing which worms are responsible for someone’s illness could help guide individual treatment, but the even greater benefit of such data comes at the population level.

For one thing, it could make existing vaccines as protective as possible. “The public health impact of this should not be underestimated and is clearly demonstrated by the Covid-19 vaccine program. This approach is also used to monitor how effective vaccine programs are. and is especially powerful when combined with data on disease severity.

Monitoring new strains that may escape current treatments and vaccines will allow scientists to develop new strategies to curb its spread, including better tests, treatments and improved vaccines. increase.

Researchers will also study the data to better understand the transmission and evolution of respiratory viruses and seek to identify new viruses and potential pandemic threats. Doing so could improve our understanding of how these viruses interact with each other and may act as an early warning system for new viruses.

Hyams said: The severity of the illness caused by each virus. This will allow us to better understand the mechanisms by which different viruses cause disease and to identify patient groups that may be at risk of severe illness from specific infections. ”

The ultimate goal is to determine all genes and all species (including viral, bacterial, and fungal species) present in a single nasal swab sample. In doing so, we can shed new light on the microbial ecosystem of the lungs and how it affects someone’s risk of infection.

Mr Ho said: It is also being understood that viruses can interact with each other. Therefore, if there is a high prevalence of one virus, it may be possible to prevent or make it easier to become infected with another virus.

“The opportunity to understand this ecosystem and how viruses and bacteria interact is very exciting.”

If successful, the initiative could even become a blueprint for stepping up virus tracking in other countries. This is essential to prevent future pandemics.

Professor Gordon Dougan, Director of Infectious Diseases at Wellcome, said: Researchers and policy makers can see where and how they are distributed. This is important information for preparing medical and research systems. “