Whole-Genome Sequencing Is Taking over Foodborne Disease Surveillance: Public health microbiology is undergoing its biggest change in a generation, replacing traditional methods with whole-genome sequencing

About 1 in 6 people are sickened with foodborne diseases each year, and for the most part those illness bouts are a nuisance and self-limiting. However, for some vulnerable populations, severe foodborne illnesses can require hospital care and may even lead to death. Once an individual becomes sick enough to visit a physician, he or she typically collects a stool sample to send to a clinical microbiology laboratory for testing and diagnosis. If the clinical laboratory identifies an enteric pathogen, the physician is notified.