Multilocus sequence typing and antigen gene sequencing were used to investigate an outbreak of meningococcal disease in a university in the United Kingdom. The data obtained showed that five distinct Neisseria meningitidis strains belonging to the ET-37 complex were present in the student population during the outbreak. Three of these strains were not associated with invasive disease, and two d...

Two national surveys were conducted to evaluate the status of varicella case-based surveillance and outbreak response. Although progress toward national surveillance has been significant, a large number of jurisdictions are still without case-based surveillance. For jurisdictions beginning case-based surveillance with limited resources, a staged approach is recommended. The national outbreak su...

IMPORTANCE Identification of the bacterium responsible for an outbreak can aid in disease management. However, traditional culture-based diagnosis can be difficult, particularly if no specific diagnostic test is available for an outbreak strain. OBJECTIVE To explore the potential of metagenomics, which is the direct sequencing of DNA extracted from microbiologically complex samples, as an ope...

Public health agencies are increasingly relying on genomics during Legionnaires' disease investigations. However, the causative bacterium (Legionella pneumophila) has an unusual population structure, with extreme temporal and spatial genome sequence conservation. Furthermore, Legionnaires' disease outbreaks can be caused by multiple L. pneumophila genotypes in a single source. These factors can...

The foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak that occurred in the United Kingdom in 2001 was of an unprecedented scale and severity and presented a massive logistical challenge to Government. Over 6.5 million animals were slaughtered and disposed of, over 4 million as a direct result of disease and a further 2.5 million on welfare grounds. On-farm burial and on-farm burning were the principal rout...