Enteric Diseases Laboratory Branch

PulseNet USA Team

The PulseNet USA Team coordinates activities associated with the national network of state health departments, local health departments, and federal agencies (CDC, USDA/FSIS, FDA) performing molecular subtyping for surveillance of foodborne diseases. The PulseNet USA Team is responsible for protocol development, validation, training, and Quality Control and Quality Assurance for bacterial subtyping methods used with in the PulseNet program as well as the maintenance, curation, and analysis of national databases of molecular subtyping data. Queries performed on these databases allow for rapid detection of foodborne disease clusters that may represent common source outbreaks.

Additional Links

• PulseNet Website
• PulseNet International

Publications

Gerner-Smidt, P., Hise, K., Kincaid, J., Hunter, S., Rolondo, S., Hyytia-Trees, E., Ribot, E. M. & Swaminathan, B. (2006) PulseNet USA: a five-year update. Foodborne Pathog Dis, 3, 9-19.

Swaminathan, B., Gerner-Smidt, P., NG, L.-K., Lukinmaa, S., Kam, K.-M., Rolando, S., Gutiarrez, E. P. R. & Binsztein, N. (2006) Building PulseNet International: an interconnected system of laboratory networks to facilitate timely public health recognition and response to foodborne disease outbreaks and emerging foodborne diseases. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 3, 36.

Graves, L. M., Hunter, S. B., Ong, A. R., Schoonmaker-Bopp, D., Hise, K., Kornstein, L., Dewitt, W. E., Hayes, P. S., Dunne, E., Mead, P. & Swaminathan, B. (2005) Microbiological aspects of the investigation that traced the 1998 outbreak of listeriosis in the United States to contaminated hot dogs and establishment of molecular subtyping-based surveillance for Listeria monocytogenes in the PulseNet network. J Clin Microbiol, 43, 2350-5.

Ribot, E. M., Fair, M. A., Gautom, R., Cameron, D. N., Hunter, S. B., Swaminathan, B. & Barrett, T. J. (2006) Standardization of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis protocols for the subtyping of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Shigella for PulseNet. Foodborne Pathog Dis, 3, 59-67.