Sequencing Rapidly Emerging for Epidemiology, Outbreak Control

Much as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revolutionized microbiology 30 years ago, the application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to the field of infectious disease will improve surveillance efforts, outbreak determination, and infection control activities, in addition to tailoring treatment decisions, thus improving both individual care and global antibiotic stewardship. Microbiologists and laboratorians will play a central role as NGS is employed for epidemiological, infection control, and patient care purposes. There is noticeable momentum toward the common use of NGS in molecular epidemiology by both public health agencies and hospital microbiology laboratories. The molecular data gleaned from these NGS-based surveillance efforts are informing the understanding of pathogen transmission, shifts in pathogen virulence or microbial sensitivity, and infection control practice. While use of NGS for individual patient diagnosis remains rare outside of translational research endeavors, experts surveyed by DTET believe that within the next five years whole genome sequencing (WGS) of pathogens will be well-integrated into routine public health surveillance and investigation of health care-associated outbreaks, particularly in large hospitals. “This is the year NGS and infectious disease jump to another level,” George Weinstock, Ph.D., from the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine (Farmington, Conn.), tells DTET. “There are a number of examples in […]