A multinational listeriosis outbreak and the importance of sharing genomic data

Pettengill, James B.; Markell, Austin; Conrad, Amanda; Carleton, Heather; Beal, Jennifer; Rand, Hugh; Musser, Steven M.; Brown, Eric W.; Allard, Marc W.; Huffman, Jasmine; Harris, Stic; Wise, Matt; Locas, Annie

doi:10.1016/s2666-5247(20)30122-1

Cited by 26 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Results from the analysis of the data enables faster and more precise public health and regulatory actions (such as public messaging and recalls), thus decreasing the number of illnesses associated with outbreaks and decreasing the breadth of products recalled on average [ 6 , 7 ]. The program makes it easier to evaluate cases across time and geography, helping to solve ongoing contamination events that would otherwise go unidentified [ 8 – 10 ] The use of WGS data increases the effectiveness in monitoring and FDA’s ability to perform root cause analysis, providing information to growers and manufacturers of food that can help them make effective investments and improvements in their food safety systems [ 11 – 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An economic evaluation of the Whole Genome Sequencing source tracking program in the U.S.

et al. 2021

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) created the GenomeTrakr Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) Network in 2013, as a tool to improve food safety. This study presents an analysis of Whole Genome source tracking implementation on potential food contamination and related illnesses through theoretical, empirical, and cost benefit analyses. We conduct empirical tests using data from FDA regulated food commodity outbreaks garnering FDA response from 1999 through 2019 and examine the effect of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Pathogen detection program of source tracking WGS isolates collected in the U.S. on outbreak illnesses for three pilot pathogens (E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella). Empirical results are consistent with the theoretical model and suggest that each additional 1,000 WGS isolates added to the public NCBI database is associated with a reduction of approximately 6 illnesses per WGS pathogen, per year. Empirical results are connected to existing literature for a Monte Carlo analysis to estimate benefits and costs. By 2019, annual health benefits are estimated at nearly $500 million, compared to an approximately $22 million investment by public health agencies. Even under conservative assumptions, the program likely broke even in its second year of implementation and could produce increasing public health benefits as the GenomeTrakr network matures.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An economic evaluation of the Whole Genome Sequencing source tracking program in the U.S.

et al. 2021

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“…As observed in the wgMLST analysis, other non-epidemiologically linked clinical isolates from the United States and the United Kingdom were found to be closely related to pistachio isolates, with a minimum SNP distance range of 0–11 SNPs and 0–4 SNPs, respectively. With the continued rise in imported/exported goods, the observation of the large number of clinical isolates that are clustered near pistachio isolates from both the United States and the United Kingdom further highlights the benefit of global partnerships in the area of food safety and public health and the need for increased metadata inclusion and transparency [ 69 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic evidence of environmental and resident Salmonella Senftenberg and Montevideo contamination in the pistachio supply-chain

et al. 2021

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Pistachios have been implicated in two salmonellosis outbreaks and multiple recalls in the U.S. This study performed an in-depth retrospective data analysis of Salmonella associated with pistachios as well as a storage study to evaluate the survivability of Salmonella on inoculated inshell pistachios to further understand the genetics and microbiological dynamics of this commodity-pathogen pair. The retrospective data analysis on isolates associated with pistachios was performed utilizing short-read and long-read sequencing technologies. The sequence data were analyzed using two methods: the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) analysis and Whole Genome Multilocus Sequence Typing (wgMLST). The year-long storage study evaluated the survival of five strains of Salmonella on pistachios stored at 25 °C at 35% and 54% relative humidity (RH). Our results demonstrate: i) evidence of persistent Salmonella Senftenberg and Salmonella Montevideo strains in pistachio environments, some of which may be due to clonal resident strains and some of which may be due to preharvest contamination; ii) presence of the Copper Homeostasis and Silver Resistance Island (CHASRI) in Salmonella Senftenberg and Montevideo strains in the pistachio supply chain; and iii) the use of metagenomic analysis is a novel tool for determining the composition of serovar survival in a cocktail inoculated storage study.

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“…Developing a future system for easy exchange and comparison of WGS data across borders would allow for the identification of more dispersed outbreaks as well as cross-border linking of contaminated food samples and human infections [ 17 ]. Routine real-time data sharing would minimize human exposure to contaminated food products and save lives by reducing the time a foodborne pathogen is present in the global food chain [ 31 ]. Food production and trade practice call for an international collaborating network with a One-Health approach to facilitate global disease surveillance and early recognition and avoidance of foodborne outbreaks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive listeriosis outbreaks and salmon products: a genomic, epidemiological study

Lachmann

Halbedel

Lüth

et al. 2022

Emerging Microbes & Infections

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Invasive listeriosis, caused by Listeria (L.) monocytogenes , is a severe foodborne infection, especially for immunocompromised individuals. The aim of our investigation was the identification and analysis of listeriosis outbreaks in Germany with smoked and graved salmon products as the most likely source of infection using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and patient interviews. In a national surveillance programme, WGS was used for subtyping and core genome multi locus sequence typing (cgMLST) for cluster detection of L. monocytogenes isolates from listeriosis cases as well as food and environmental samples in Germany. Patient interviews were conducted to complement the molecular typing. We identified 22 independent listeriosis outbreaks occurring between 2010 and 2021 that were most likely associated with the consumption of smoked and graved salmon products. In Germany, 228 cases were identified, of 50 deaths (22%) reported 17 were confirmed to have died from listeriosis. Many of these 22 outbreaks were cross-border outbreaks with further cases in other countries. This report shows that smoked and graved salmon products contaminated with L. monocytogenes pose a serious risk for listeriosis infection in Germany. Interdisciplinary efforts including WGS and epidemiological investigations were essential to identifying the source of infection. Uncooked salmon products are high-risk foods frequently contaminated with L. monocytogenes . In order to minimize the risk of infection for consumers, food producers need to improve hygiene measures and reduce the entry of pathogens into food processing. Furthermore, susceptible individuals should be better informed of the risk of acquiring listeriosis from consuming smoked and graved salmon products.

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A multinational listeriosis outbreak and the importance of sharing genomic data

Cited by 26 publications

References 4 publications

An economic evaluation of the Whole Genome Sequencing source tracking program in the U.S.

An economic evaluation of the Whole Genome Sequencing source tracking program in the U.S.

Genomic evidence of environmental and resident Salmonella Senftenberg and Montevideo contamination in the pistachio supply-chain

Invasive listeriosis outbreaks and salmon products: a genomic, epidemiological study

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