Recent foodborne outbreaks have demonstrated the importance of accurate subtyping and subsequent clustering of bacterial isolates implicated in outbreak investigations and responses. The underlying methodology used in source traceback links the clinical isolate back to the specific food or environmental source of the outbreak. For over 20 years, PFGE has been the gold standard; however, the genetic resolution it provides is limited and not always able to differentiate between outbreak and non-outbreak related isolates, which is vital for successful traceback analysis. The application of Whole-Genome Sequencing (WGS) to isolate characterization allows for the elucidation of the complete genetic sequence of a target organism, providing millions of nucleotides of information; thusly, allowing a researcher to more efficiently resolve an outbreak. When this amount of genetic specificity is combined with the ability to provide epidemiological information in real-time, it further underscores the increasing importance of transitioning to WGS (and methodologies ancillary to WGS) to successfully and quickly resolve foodborne outbreaks.The massive amount of sequence information generated by WGS needs to be analyzed and stored in a robust, efficient and scientific manner. Therefore, the successful use of WGS in foodborne outbreak investigations requires a large, reference database of sequenced isolates and their associated metadata (e.g., isolate source [e.g., chicken, tomato, environmental swab], date of collection, geographic source) to be able to link a clinical isolate back to an associated food or environmental source. This symposium will provide an overview of specific, commonly employed methodologies and discuss the importance and success of using WGS with a large, publically available database. Furthermore, this session will provide examples of how this technology is advancing food safety and public health and will highlight some of the technical requirements that are necessary for the successful implementation of WGS as a molecular epidemiological tool.

Presentations