The importance of equally accessible genomic surveillance in the age of pandemics

Abstract

Genomic epidemiology is now a core component in investigating the spread of a disease during an outbreak and for future preparedness to tackle emerging zoonoses. During the last decades, several viral diseases arose and emphasized the importance of molecular epidemiology in tracking the dispersal route, supporting proper mitigation measures, and appropriate vaccine development. In this perspective article, we summarized what has been done so far in the genomic epidemiology field and what should be considered in the future. We traced back the methods and protocols employed over time for zoonotic disease response. Either to small outbreaks such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak identified first in 2002 in Guangdong, China, or to a global pandemic like the one that we are experiencing now since 2019 when the severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus emerged in Wuhan, China, following several pneumonia cases, and subsequently spread worldwide. We explored both the benefits and shortages encountered when relying on genomic epidemiology, and we clearly present the disadvantages of inequity in accessing these tools around the world, especially in countries with less developed economies. For effectively addressing future pandemics, it is crucial to work for better sequencing equity around the globe.

Keywords: Disease containment; Genomic epidemiology; Pandemic; Sequencing; Sequencing equity.

Fig. 1

The inequities of genomic surveillance throughout the world, based on the submitted SARS-CoV-2 complete genomic sequences to the GISAID database (accessed: 2022.08.17.). The map indicates well-represented and less-represented regions in the world based on the total number of sequences uploaded to the GISAID database