Leslie C. Norins, M.D., Ph.D, of alzgerm.org, reported the world’s largest serum bank, the Defense Serum Repository (DoDSR), contains 55 million specimens, from 10 million individuals, dating back 28 years. The serum samples are available for research; however, many researchers are unaware of the resource and the serum bank is underutilized in research into chronic diseases.

It is time to identify the infectious pathogens causing genetic changes, abnormal proteins, inflammation, and chronic diseases. High throughput sequencing, available in research, can diagnose hundreds of pathogens in a blood sample. The DoDSR could provide a wealth of information to scientists, by comparing infectious immortal pathogens found in serum samples to the chronic diseases in the patients.