Bats act as reservoirs for the Ebola virus and exhibit no symptoms of the disease. Even though the Ebola virus is harmless to bats, it is lethal to humans. The problem occurs when viruses jump between species, zoonosis. Understanding zoonotic pathogens and the mechanism of viral infections can better prepare us for outbreaks in humans. Approximately 75% emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses. Monitoring pre-emerging zoonotic pathogens between outbreaks and how they spread can be beneficial in protecting humans from zoonotic pathogens. For more information on applications of Illumina technology in the field of Microbial Genomics, please visit us at Illumina: Microbial Genomics http://www.illumina.com/applications/microbiology.ilmn Products: Genome AnalyzerIIx: http://support.illumina.com/sequencing/sequencing_instruments/genome_analyzer_iix.html Publication Links: PMID: 21866103 | Carette J.E., et al. (2011): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21866103 PMID: 23265969 | Smith I., et al. (2013): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23265969 Publication Research Reviews: Viral Detection and Research: http://www.illumina.com/documents/products/research_reviews/viral_detection_research_review.pdf Metagenomics 2nd Edition: http://www.illumina.com/documents/products/research_reviews/metagenomics_research_review.pdf The Science Mondays (SciMon) series is brought to you by Illumina http://www.illumina.com/ Illumina hosts Swati Kadam, Ph.D., Scientific Liaison, Scientific Affairs and Jacques Retief, Associate Director Scientific Affairs deliver 7 minutes of scientific enlightenment on the latest discoveries.