title: Viral surveillance and discovery.
abstract: The field of virus discovery has burgeoned with the advent of high throughput sequencing platforms and bioinformatics programs that enable rapid identification and molecular characterization of known and novel agents, investments in global microbial surveillance that include wildlife and domestic animals as well as humans, and recognition that viruses may be implicated in chronic as well as acute diseases. Here we review methods for viral surveillance and discovery, strategies and pitfalls in linking discoveries to disease, and identify opportunities for improvements in sequencing instrumentation and analysis, the use of social media and medical informatics that will further advance clinical medicine and public health.
authors.affiliation: Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10025, USA. wil2001@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Walter Ian
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Lipkin
authors.forename: Cadhla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Firth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D014773:Virology / Q000379:methods; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D014780:Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*