Recent advances in viral diagnostics and therapeutic management

Infectious diseases caused by viruses continue to be among the major contributors to disease morbidity and mortality and economic losses around the world. The fast-paced development of new forms of pathogens, globalization, environmental shifts, and the appearance of previously unknown pathogens emphasize the importance of a holistic approach involving timely detection and therapy and monitoring. This review highlights the most important developments and challenges in diagnosing and treating viral infections. Special attention has been paid to recent advances in molecular diagnoses, such as RT-qPCR, LAMP, NGS, CRISPR-based diagnostic tools, and POCTs. Progress in artificial intelligence helps increase the efficiency of diagnostic methods, identify new outbreaks and make decisions in healthcare by analyzing epidemiological and clinical data. New antiviral strategies involve wide-spectrum antiviral agents, direct-acting antiviral drugs, monoclonal antibodies, immune system modifiers, and cell therapy, expanding opportunities for successful treatment of various virus-related diseases. At the same time, genome surveillance provides information about viral evolution and emerging viral variants in real-time. Nonetheless, there are still problems to solve regarding drug-resistant viruses, genetic heterogeneity of pathogens, lack of access to modern diagnostics techniques and influence of climate change on virus transmission. However, despite these breakthroughs, there is still a long way to go with antiviral resistance, genetic variation of viruses, lack of diagnostic tools, and alterations in the disease transmission cycle due to climatic change. The use of innovation in diagnostics, personalized medicine, artificial intelligence, and global networks is crucial in preparing for and combating future viral outbreaks.