Collection 17 February 2021

Outbreaks and emerging infections

Infectious disease outbreaks threaten human, animal and plant health, and they have implications for global health, food security, biodiversity and economic stability. This Collection contains articles from Nature Reviews Microbiology that explore the emergence, identification, spread, pathogenesis, impacts and management of local or global outbreaks caused by pathogens, including emerging and re-emerging viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, Ebola virus and novel influenza viruses, as well as fungi and drug-resistant bacteria. Increased knowledge of the origin and characteristics of infectious disease outbreaks are prerequisites for the successful management of current outbreaks and the prevention of future outbreaks, and thus for ensuring the planet’s health.

This Collection is editorially independent, produced with financial support from a third party. About this content.

Content

Emerging infections and the integrative environment-health sciences: the road ahead

The integrative environment-health sciences including One Health, Conservation Medicine, EcoHealth and Planetary Health embody the transdisciplinary synthesis needed to understand the multitude of factors that underpin emerging infections and their management. Future successes in confronting and resolving the complex causal basis of disease emergence to generate robust, systems-oriented risk reduction strategies that preserve both human health as well as promoting sustainable futures represent the ‘Moon Shot’ for the integrative environment-health sciences.
- Matthew C. Fisher
- Kris A. Murray
Comment11 Jan 2021 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

In this Review, Shi and colleagues summarize the exceptional amount of research that has characterized acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since this virus has swept around the globe. They discuss what we know so far about the emergence and virology of SARS-CoV-2 and the pathogenesis and treatment of COVID-19.
- Ben Hu
- Hua Guo
- Zheng-Li Shi
Review Article6 Oct 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Coronavirus biology and replication: implications for SARS-CoV-2

In this Review, Thiel and colleagues discuss the key aspects of coronavirus biology and their implications for SARS-CoV-2 infections as well as for treatment and prevention strategies.
- Philip V’kovski
- Annika Kratzel
- Volker Thiel
Review Article28 Oct 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Learning from the past: development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines

In this Perspective, Su, Du and Jiang discuss lessons from previous vaccine development efforts for other viruses and how the mechanisms of vaccine-associated disease enhancement seen in some viral infections can inform the development of a safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccine.
- Shan Su
- Lanying Du
- Shibo Jiang
Perspective16 Oct 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Prospects for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines in Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted unparalleled progress in the development of vaccines and therapeutics in many countries, but it has also highlighted the vulnerability of resource-limited countries in Africa. Margolin and colleagues review global efforts to develop SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, with a focus on the opportunities and challenges in Africa.
- Emmanuel Margolin
- Wendy A. Burgers
- Edward P. Rybicki
Review Article10 Sep 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Bat-borne virus diversity, spillover and emergence

Bats harbour a large number of different viruses, some of which have spilled over to cause human disease. In this Review, Letko, Munster and colleagues discuss the diversity of bat viruses and the factors that determine the emergence of zoonotic viruses from bats.
- Michael Letko
- Stephanie N. Seifert
- Vincent J. Munster
Review Article11 Jun 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Viral genomics in Ebola virus research

Filoviruses such as Ebola virus pose a substantial health risk to humans. Advances in genomic technologies have enabled the rapid, large-scale generation of virus sequence data at the location of disease outbreaks and thus the use of reverse functional genomics to swiftly characterize the threat of, and treatment for, filovirus disease.
- Nicholas Di Paola
- Mariano Sanchez-Lockhart
- Gustavo Palacios
Review Article4 May 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Host and viral determinants of influenza A virus species specificity

Influenza A viruses cause pandemics when they cross between species. In this Review, Barclay and colleagues examine the host barriers that influenza A viruses must overcome to initiate a pandemic in humans and describe how, on crossing the species barrier, the virus mutates to establish new interactions with the human host.
- Jason S. Long
- Bhakti Mistry
- Wendy S. Barclay
Review Article28 Nov 2018 Nature Reviews Microbiology
The evolution of Zika virus from Asia to the Americas

Previously, Zika virus was thought to cause mild infection, and serious complications only recently emerged. Liu, Shi and Qin discuss how the virus has evolved during its recent global spread and consider how these changes might be linked to pathogenesis.
- Zhong-Yu Liu
- Wei-Feng Shi
- Cheng-Feng Qin
Progress7 Jan 2019 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Population bottlenecks and founder effects: implications for mosquito-borne arboviral emergence

In this Review, Weaver and colleagues discuss the role of genetic drift following population bottlenecks and founder effects in mosquito-borne arboviral evolution and spread, and the emergence of human disease, focusing on chikungunya virus and Zika virus.
- Scott C. Weaver
- Naomi L. Forrester
- Nikos Vasilakis
Review Article11 Jan 2021 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Population genomics of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Over the past decade, Klebsiella pneumoniae has emerged as a major clinical and public health threat. In this Review, Wyres, Lam and Holt discuss how genomics approaches have advanced our understanding of K. pneumoniae taxonomy, ecology and evolution as well as the diversity and distribution of clinically relevant determinants of pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance.
- Kelly L. Wyres
- Margaret M. C. Lam
- Kathryn E. Holt
Review Article13 Feb 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Neisseria meningitidis: using genomics to understand diversity, evolution and pathogenesis

Meningococcal disease remains an important cause of morbidity and death worldwide despite the development and increasing implementation of effective vaccines. In this Review, Caugant and Brynildsrud discuss how high-throughput sequencing approaches have advanced our understanding of the diversity and evolution of Neisseria meningitidis and the pathogenesis of N. meningitidis infection and how they are helping to explain the epidemiology of meningococcal disease.
- Dominique A. Caugant
- Ola B. Brynildsrud
Review Article8 Nov 2019 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Non-tuberculous mycobacteria and the rise of Mycobacterium abscessus

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria, such as Mycobacterium abscessus, are an increasing global health burden, in part due their extensive drug resistance. In this Review, Johansen, Herrmann and Kremer discuss the infection process, host interactions, mechanisms of drug resistance and drug development.
- Matt D. Johansen
- Jean-Louis Herrmann
- Laurent Kremer
Review Article21 Feb 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: an overview of basic and clinical research

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major pathogen both within hospitals and in the community. In this Review, Fowler and colleagues provide an overview of basic and clinical MRSA research and explore the epidemiology, transmission, genetic diversity, evolution, surveillance and treatment of MRSA.
- Nicholas A. Turner
- Batu K. Sharma-Kuinkel
- Vance G. Fowler Jr
Review Article8 Feb 2019 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Xanthomonas diversity, virulence and plant–pathogen interactions

In this Review, Jones and colleagues describe the extremely diverse Xanthomonas spp. and how these plant pathogens use their extensive repertoire of effectors for virulence and immune evasion. Understanding these prototypical plant pathogens paves the way to combat disease.
- Sujan Timilsina
- Neha Potnis
- Jeffrey B. Jones
Review Article28 Apr 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Chytrid fungi and global amphibian declines

Worldwide amphibian declines caused by pathogenic chytrid fungi are emblematic of the emerging infectious diseases driven by globalization. Fisher and Garner discuss how these wildlife pathogens emerge to drive global declines in amphibian biodiversity and the implications of current research for policy and control measures.
- Matthew C. Fisher
- Trenton W. J. Garner
Review Article25 Feb 2020 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Ecology and impacts of white-nose syndrome on bats

The fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which causes white-nose syndrome in bats, has devastated bat populations in North America since its introduction from Eurasia in the 2000s. In this Review, Hoyt and colleagues describe the ecology of P. destructans in bats and its impacts on bats and the ecosystem.
- Joseph R. Hoyt
- A. Marm Kilpatrick
- Kate E. Langwig
Review Article18 Jan 2021 Nature Reviews Microbiology
Labcorp's perspective: Responding to SARS-CoV-2 and the next pandemic
- Oren Cohen M.D.,
- Dot Adcock M.D.,
- Marcia Eisenberg, Ph.D.
Sponsor Feature17 Feb 2021

Outbreaks and emerging infections

Content

Emerging infections and the integrative environment-health sciences: the road ahead

Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

Coronavirus biology and replication: implications for SARS-CoV-2

Learning from the past: development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines

Prospects for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines in Africa

Bat-borne virus diversity, spillover and emergence

Viral genomics in Ebola virus research

Host and viral determinants of influenza A virus species specificity

The evolution of Zika virus from Asia to the Americas

Population bottlenecks and founder effects: implications for mosquito-borne arboviral emergence

Population genomics of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Neisseria meningitidis: using genomics to understand diversity, evolution and pathogenesis

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria and the rise of Mycobacterium abscessus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: an overview of basic and clinical research

Xanthomonas diversity, virulence and plant–pathogen interactions

Chytrid fungi and global amphibian declines

Ecology and impacts of white-nose syndrome on bats

Labcorp's perspective: Responding to SARS-CoV-2 and the next pandemic

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