British scientists plan to expand genomic sequencing from COVID-19 to flu

Genomic sequencing allowed the world to track new coronavirus variants throughout the pandemic. Now British researchers plan to use it to better understand a host of other respiratory pathogens, from influenza to respiratory syncytial virus .

The world has never had access to the kind of real-time information for these viruses that scientists obtained on SARS-CoV-2 through sequencing millions of genomes, Ewan Harrison, head of the new Respiratory Virus and Microbiome Initiative, told reporters on Monday. “We hope that by expanding our ability to sequence these viruses routinely, we can build upon the work that’s going on, and hopefully supercharge research efforts to understand the transmission of these viruses, but also to help develop new treatments and vaccines,” Harrison said.

The work will begin later this year by using leftover material from swabs taken for COVID-19 diagnostic purposes, sequencing SARS-CoV-2, influenza, RSV and other common respiratory viruses in a combined process.

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