On Sept. 14, 2020, Illumina announced that the Australian public health laboratories will aim to sequence the virus genomes of all positive COVID-19 tests in Australia and track COVID-19 using genomics across the country, rather than state by state, under a ground-breaking initiative spearheaded by Australiaﾒs public health laboratory organisations and leading industry partners.

The Communicable Disease Genomics Network (CDGN) and Illumina are collaborating to track COVID-19 using next-generation genomic sequencing technology, which enables real-time data sharing and integration to better understand the transmission and spread of the virus. Coordinated by the CDGN, this will be the first national implementation of pathogen surveillance and a critical step forward in Australia’s pandemic response.

The Australian Government has provided a AUD $3.3M Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant through The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney’s School of Medical Sciences. As part of the research project, Illumina has further contributed more than AUD $2M worth of its genomic sequencing systems and related consumables.

Pathogen genomics can reveal information that would otherwise be missed, including rapid insights into the behaviour, spread and evolution of COVID-19. This project will have an immediate application in the investigation of outbreaks, including identification of emerging outbreaks and transmission events as part of efforts to reduce community transmission.

Other benefits of genomics include the ability to identify mutations of COVID-19 in the Australian population to inform the design of treatments and vaccines, and the capacity to precisely identify persistent infection versus reinfection or inactive infection. This holds particular significance to healthcare workers and can help protect the capacity of the frontline workforce and vulnerable patients.