What's in a Name?

Abstract

While these letters certainly will stimulate further discussion in the adenovirus field, we also think they speak to an issue that is presenting itself to the larger virology community. Specifically, the ability to identify and characterize new viruses has increased vastly with new sequencing technologies. We wonder, then, whether it will continue to be feasible to ask for serological validation of proposals to denote a given isolate as “new.” Moreover, it seems that serological tests will ultimately be replaced in clinical laboratories due to economic and other practical concerns. Finally, serology is not always feasible, e.g., some viruses cannot be cultured and some do not lend themselves to immunological assays. Thus, as we move to sequence-based approaches, we need to consider how distinctions will be made within viral species.