Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a groundbreaking system that "provides a way to show, surprisingly quickly, whether there are new transmissible variants of pathogens circulating in populations — and it can be used for a huge range of bacteria and viruses," according to Noémie Lefrancq, the study's first author.
A report in Nature said the method can quickly spot new variants of viruses and bacteria, including the ones that cause COVID, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. By analyzing genetic data from just a few infected people, it could help health officials respond faster to diseases that change and spread at an increasing rate.
Diseases such as COVID have shown how quickly pathogens can mutate, spreading more efficiently and sometimes even evading vaccines. The new system looks at genetic changes in microbes to figure out which variants spread more easily or resist treatments. This helps researchers act faster by adjusting vaccines or using better antibiotics.
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Absolutely 👍 When researchers tested the system on the bacteria that causes whooping cough, they found three new variants that hadn't been noticed before. They also used it to study tuberculosis and spotted antibiotic-resistant strains spreading in people.
Scientists believe this tool could eventually help make treatment decisions more quickly, saving lives and slowing the spread of these tough-to-treat variants.
Lefrancq said, "We can even use it to start predicting how new variants are going to take over, which means decisions can quickly be made about how to respond."
That kind of early warning system could be a game changer, especially as the climate crisis and human encroachment on natural habitats create more opportunities for diseases to spread.
Like new tools for tracking and controlling invasive species that harm ecosystems, this system gives us a way to stay ahead of new threats. It might take some time before it's used everywhere, but it could change how we handle outbreaks and prevent them from spreading.
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