In the year 2000, the Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases Branch at CDC participated in the investigation of 56 outbreaks or clusters. Pathogen genotyping has been an integral part of many of these investigations. Genotyping can identify cases involved in the outbreak and the potential source of infection, or exclude those persons and products not involved. Especially for complex outbreaks involving multiple states over long periods of time e.g., outbreaks due to Listeria monocytogenes, genotyping has been indispensable. Routine genotyping of pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7 has enabled the identification of unsuspected outbreaks. However, investigations of genotype clusters do not always identify a source of infections. For some clusters, the source may be overlooked or missed, for others sporadic cases may be clustered and no single source exists. Our challenge is to identify clusters early in the investigation process that are likely to lead to successful public health investigations. In addition to expanded routine genotyping of human isolates in the future, genotyping of food and environmental pathogen isolates may allow a more accurate determination of points of contamination of food products from farm to table.
Learning Objectives: To learn about the role of pathogen genotyping in foodborne outbreak investigations.
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.