Pulsenet

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PulseNet is a network run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which brings together public health and food regulatory agency laboratories around the United States. [1] Through the network, cooperating groups can share pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) results which act as fingerprints to distinguish strains of organisms such as E. coli (O157:H7 and non O157), Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria, Campylobacter, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Yersinia pestis. In this way, efforts to combat infectious disease outbreaks are strengthened. Specifically, by sharing results, it is easier to identify large-scale outbreaks. For example, if an outbreak of E. coli occurred in two distant parts of the country, PulseNet might help prove a link between the two. In such a case, the pathogen would have the same genetic fingerprint at both locations.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention government agency

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the leading national public health institute of the United States. The CDC is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Public health preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society and individuals

Public health has been defined as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the health of a population and the threats it faces is the basis for public health. The public can be as small as a handful of people or as large as a village or an entire city; in the case of a pandemic it may encompass several continents. The concept of health takes into account physical, psychological and social well-being. As such, according to the World Health Organization, it is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

Due to the success of Pulsenet USA since its inception in 1996, similar networks have been established internationally in Canada (2000), the Asia Pacific (2002), Europe (2003), [2] Latin America (2003), [3] and the Middle East (2006). These networks collaborate under the umbrella of PulseNet International. [4] PulseNet participants use the BioNumerics software suite for database maintenance, tiff image normalization, and analysis and pattern comparisons. [5]

BioNumerics

BioNumerics is a suite of bioinformatics software applications developed by the company Applied Maths NV.

The objectives of PulseNet International are to perform molecular surveillance of foodborne diseases at the global level in order to facilitate international outbreak detection and investigation by partnering with public health laboratories throughout the world and by building capacity for molecular surveillance of foodborne pathogens.

In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease in a particular time and place. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Four linked cases of a rare infectious disease may be sufficient to constitute an outbreak. Outbreaks include epidemics, which term is normally only used for infectious diseases, as well as diseases with an environmental origin, such as a water or foodborne disease. They may affect a region in a country or a group of countries. Pandemics are near-global disease outbreaks.

Surveillance monitoring of behavior, activities, or other changing information

Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, activities, or information for the purpose of influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as closed-circuit television (CCTV), or interception of electronically transmitted information, such as Internet traffic. It can also include simple technical methods, such as human intelligence gathering and postal interception.

Additionally, the participants collaborate on the development, validation and implementation of internationally standardized subtyping methods to be used in the networks and perform collaborative studies on the geographic distribution and spread of different clones of foodborne pathogens.

See also

Foodborne illness illness resulting from food that is spoiled or contaminated by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, parasites, or toxins

Foodborne illness is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as toxins such as poisonous mushrooms and various species of beans that have not been boiled for at least 10 minutes.

Related Research Articles

Zoonosis infectious disease that is transmitted between species (sometimes by a vector) from animals other than humans to humans or from humans to other animals

Zoonoses are infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites that spread between animals and humans.

<i>Escherichia coli</i> O157:H7 serotype of the bacterial species Escherichia coli and is one of the Shiga toxin–producing types of E. coli

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a serotype of the bacterial species Escherichia coli and is one of the Shiga toxin–producing types of E. coli. It is a cause of disease, typically foodborne illness, through consumption of contaminated and raw food, including raw milk and undercooked ground beef. Infection with this type of pathogenic bacteria may lead to hemorrhagic diarrhea, and to kidney failure; these have been reported to cause the deaths of children younger than five years of age, of elderly patients, and of patients whose immune systems are otherwise compromised.

<i>Vibrio cholerae</i> species of bacterium

Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative, comma-shaped bacterium. The bacterium's natural habitat is brackish or saltwater. Some strains of V. cholerae cause the disease cholera. V. cholerae is a facultative anaerobe and has a flagellum at one cell pole as well as pili. V. cholerae can undergo respiratory and fermentative metabolism. When ingested, V. cholerae can cause diarrhoea and vomiting in a host within several hours to 2–3 days of ingestion. V. cholerae was first isolated as the cause of cholera by Italian anatomist Filippo Pacini in 1854, but his discovery was not widely known until Robert Koch, working independently 30 years later, publicized the knowledge and the means of fighting the disease.

El Tor is a particular strain of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera. Also known as V. cholera biotype eltor, it has been the dominant strain in the seventh global cholera pandemic. It is distinguished from the classic strain at a genetic level, although both are in the serogroup O1 and both contain Inaba, Ogawa and Hikojima serotypes. It is also distinguished from classic biotypes by the production of hemolysins.

<i>Vibrio</i> genus of bacteria

Vibrio is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria, possessing a curved-rod (comma) shape, several species of which can cause foodborne infection, usually associated with eating undercooked seafood. Typically found in salt water, Vibrio species are facultative anaerobes that test positive for oxidase and do not form spores. All members of the genus are motile and have polar flagella with sheaths. Vibrio species typically possess two chromosomes, which is unusual for bacteria. Each chromosome has a distinct and independent origin of replication, and are conserved together over time in the genus. Recent phylogenies have been constructed based on a suite of genes.

The National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) is part of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, health emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention.

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

Pulsed field gel electrophoresis is a technique used for the separation of large deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules by applying to a gel matrix an electric field that periodically changes direction.

Infection control is the discipline concerned with preventing nosocomial or healthcare-associated infection, a practical sub-discipline of epidemiology. It is an essential, though often underrecognized and undersupported, part of the infrastructure of health care. Infection control and hospital epidemiology are akin to public health practice, practiced within the confines of a particular health-care delivery system rather than directed at society as a whole. Anti-infective agents include antibiotics, antibacterials, antifungals, antivirals and antiprotozoals.

The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) is a membership organization in the United States representing the laboratories that protect the health and safety of the public. In collaboration with members, APHL advances laboratory systems and practices, and promotes policies that support healthy communities. APHL serves as a liaison between laboratories and federal and international agencies, and ensures that the network of laboratories has current and consistent scientific information in order to be ready for outbreaks and other public health emergencies. Membership consists of local, territorial, county and state public health laboratories; environmental, agricultural and veterinary laboratories; and corporations and individuals with an interest in public health and laboratory science. APHL is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization with a history of over fifty years.

The 2006 North American E. coli outbreak was an Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak from organic spinach. The outbreak occurred in September 2006 and its probable origin was an Angus cattle ranch that had leased land to spinach grower. At least 276 consumer illnesses and 3 deaths have been attributed to the tainted produce.

Food microbiology the study of the microorganisms that inhibit, create, or contaminate food

Food microbiology is the study of the microorganisms that inhibit, create, or contaminate food, including the study of microorganisms causing food spoilage, pathogens that may cause disease especially if food is improperly cooked or stored, those used to produce fermented foods such as cheese, yogurt, bread, beer, and wine, and those with other useful roles such as producing probiotics.

Molecular epidemiology is a branch of epidemiology and medical science that focuses on the contribution of potential genetic and environmental risk factors, identified at the molecular level, to the etiology, distribution and prevention of disease within families and across populations. This field has emerged from the integration of molecular biology into traditional epidemiological research. Molecular epidemiology improves our understanding of the pathogenesis of disease by identifying specific pathways, molecules and genes that influence the risk of developing disease. More broadly, it seeks to establish understanding of how the interactions between genetic traits and environmental exposures result in disease.

Robert V. Tauxe is the Director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Escherichia coli O104:H4 is an enteroaggregative Escherichia coli strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli, and the cause of the 2011 Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak. The "O" in the serological classification identifies the cell wall lipopolysaccharide antigen, and the "H" identifies the flagella antigen.

Shah M. Faruque medical researcher

Shah Mohammad Faruque is a professor in the School of Life Sciences at Independent University Bangladesh (IUB). He is widely recognized for his research in Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium which causes the epidemic diarrhoeal disease Cholera. Among other positions, previously he was a professor at BRAC University; director of the Genomics Centre at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), and formerly director of the Centre for Food and Water Borne Diseases in ICDDR,B. His areas of interest include microbial genomics, bacteriophages, environmental microbiology, ecology, and evolution of bacterial pathogens, particularly those associated with waterborne and foodborne diseases. Faruque is well known for his work on molecular genetics, epidemiology and ecology of the cholera pathogen, and its bacteriophages.

Applied Maths

Applied Maths NV is a bioinformatics company, headquartered in Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium, developing software for the biosciences.

The 100K Pathogen Genome Project was launched in July 2012 by Bart Weimer as an academic, public, and private partnership. It aims to sequence the genomes of 100,000 infectious microorganisms to create a database of bacterial genome sequences for use in public health, outbreak detection, and bacterial pathogen detection. This will speed up the diagnosis of foodborne illnesses and shorten infectious disease outbreaks.

Vibrio tapetis is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, the causative agent of the brown ring disease that affects cultured clams. B1090 is the type strain.

References

  1. ↑ "PulseNet". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  2. ↑ "PulseNet Europe". PulseNet Europe.
  3. ↑ "PulseNet Latin America". PulseNet Latin America (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2008-02-24. Retrieved 2008-03-13.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
  4. ↑ "PulseNet International". PulseNet International.
  5. ↑ Hunter SB, Vauterin P, Lambert-Fair MA, Van Duyne MS, Kubota K, Graves L, Wrigley D, Barrett T, Ribot E (2005). "Establishment of a universal size standard strain for use with the PulseNet standardized pulsed-field gel electrophoresis protocols: converting the national databases to the new size standard". J. Clin. Microbiol. 43 (3): 1045–1050. doi:10.1128/JCM.43.3.1045-1050.2005. PMC   1081233 . PMID   15750058.
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