Book Chapter

Molecular Source Tracking and Molecular Subtyping

Katz, Lee, Carleton, Heather, Gerner‐Smidt, Peter, den Bakker, Henk, Deng, Xiangyu, Trees, Eija

2019

Overview

Molecular subtyping is an instrumental tool for foodborne illness surveillance and outbreak investigation. The term “molecular epidemiology‐ in the context of foodborne bacteria is usually applied to the subtyping of bacteria that cause foodborne disease and the ways in which such subtyping data contribute to understanding the transmission of those bacteria to humans. Molecular subtyping techniques can be applied to identifying the source of a particular outbreak or to a broader understanding of the role of certain foods or processes in outbreak‐related or sporadic infections. Advances in sequencing technology over the last two decades have made whole‐genome sequencing (WGS)‐based subtyping approaches the method of choice for many foodborne pathogens. Routine application of WGS in laboratory surveillance and monitoring of foodborne pathogens is transforming public health microbiology. With the increasing international trade of food and food animals, it is crucial that molecular subtyping methods for foodborne pathogens be harmonized worldwide to facilitate the rapid comparison of strains isolated in different countries. This method harmonization for comparison is best done in the framework of surveillance networks. The ongoing implementation of WGS provides an unprecedented opportunity to establish universal global standards for subtyping foodborne bacteria that will result in easily exchangeable data and global nomenclature.

• Publisher: ASM Press
• Subject: foodborne bacteria / foodborne pathogens / molecular epidemiology / molecular source tracking / molecular subtyping methods
• ISBN: 9781555819965, 1555819966