A History of Outbreak Response

MassTag PCR was utilized in 2006 as a rapid idenification of ten different causes of viral hemorrhagic fevers, which allows for early differential diagnosis that improves clinical management and containment. In 2008, multiplex MassTag-PCR illustrated previously unrecognized rhinoviruses may cause a significant amount of pediatric respiratory disease. Conventional diagnostic testing did not pick up the virus in any nasopharyngeal sample. The same technology was utilized for a pediatric unexplained respiratory illness study in Germany.

Discovery of a novel arenavirus (LuJo virus) as the cause of an outbreak of unexplained hemorrhagic fever in Southern Africa. Four of five patients died until identification via RT-PCR enabled treatment and survival of the final victim. Mice are strongly considered to be the viral source and humans become infected via contaminated food or household items.

The use of high-throughput sequencing revealed a new arenavirus transmitted through solid-organ transplantation, marking the first application of next-generation sequecing in an infectious disease outbreak. Specific PCR assays based on a unique sequence confirmed viral presence in the kidneys, liver, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid of transplant recipients.

Discovery of a novel orthoreovirus (Piscine reovirus, PRV) as the cause of a fatal heart and skeletal muscle inflammation threatening farms and wild salmon worldwide. The study prompted global measures to be taken to control PRV to ensure food security and prevent economic disruption.

We reported the characterization of a novel orthomyxo-like virus as the causative agent in TiLV, which is implicated in the mass die-off in two continents. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations acknowledged this poses a global threat to food as well as economic security. The Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund, who sponsored the research, selected the TiLV research as one of the top three most successful and impactful scientific projects (out of 1,330 total) in the 40 year history of the organization.

Building upon the MassTag PCR technology a decade prior, the TBD-Serochip was designed to discriminate antibody responses to eight major tick-borne pathogens present in the US. As capture sequencing technology improved, the TBDCapSeq assay was able to test at higher sensitivity and identify unknown infections from prior PCR testing.

Utilizing VirCapSeq and peptide arrays, a 2019 study demonstrates the implication of enterovirus D68 as a plausible link between infection and AFM. Several other research groups around the world confirmed the same correlation using different techniques.

Our team utilized proteome-wide high-density peptide microarray technology to detect specific humoral immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and other human coronaviruses. The technology was granted an FDA EUA and used in more than 100 million tests by the Los Angeles County School District (San Jose/Santa Cruz, California).