After half a century of success in combating infectious diseases with vaccination and antibiotics, emerging and reemerging epidemics present a new threat to human health. Meanwhile, the rapid pace of viral and microbial genomics research, largely based on the success of genomics technologies, offers new data-generating platforms and a revolutionary knowledge base for better understanding the diseases and the associated pathogens. Systematic molecular biology studies using genomics information and technologies have helped to elucidate mechanisms of virulence and pathogenicity, whereas genomics-based medical genetic studies have been used to better understand pathogen susceptibility. This progress may lead to the development of effective and safe vaccines in the future. Here we highlight the ongoing historical transition in the field of infectious disease research and clinical practice in the new era of genomics.

中文翻译：

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基因组时代的传染病。

在通过疫苗和抗生素抗击传染病取得了半个世纪的成功之后，新出现和重新流行的流行病对人类健康构成了新的威胁。同时，在很大程度上基于基因组学技术成功的基础上，病毒和微生物基因组学研究的迅速发展提供了新的数据生成平台和革命性的知识库，以更好地了解疾病和相关病原体。利用基因组学信息和技术进行的系统分子生物学研究有助于阐明毒力和致病性的机制，而基于基因组学的医学遗传研究已被用来更好地理解病原体的易感性。这一进展可能会导致将来开发有效且安全的疫苗。