Flaviviruses and SARS-like coronaviruses are among the top five viral families with the greatest pandemic risk to Australia, researchers have warned.

A CSIRO report published on Tuesday recommends that the government should already be preparing for the next large-scale disease outbreak by boosting research into these “priority” viruses, as well vaccine manufacturing and animal models.

The authors of the 56-page-long report also called for better data sharing between states and territories to inform response strategies and a renewed focus on therapeutic repurposing, including novel antiviral treatments.

“It is becoming clearer that viruses are shifting between species at alarming rates,” they wrote.