Accelerating the Diagnosis of Neuroinfection in Malaysia

Yoke-Fun Chan of the University of Malaya in Malaysia will deploy metagenomic next generation sequencing to identify regional, rare and novel pathogens associated with neuroinfection in Malaysia. Neuroinfection can be caused by many different pathogens and around 60-80% of cases remain undiagnosed. Malaysia is a hotspot for viruses associated with encephalitis and an ideal location for establishing global pathogen surveillance. They will sequence around 300 archived cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples, and samples from prospectively recruited pediatric and adult patients with suspected neuroinfection at several medical centers to identify the causative pathogens. They will also establish a standardized metagenomics protocol for neuroinfection. The data will help clarify the epidemiology of neuroinfections in Malaysia and pave the way to implement metagenomic next generation sequencing for routine, real-time diagnosis of many infectious diseases to support public health decision-making.