Infectious Disease Surveillance and One Health

Enhanced national surveillance of Listeria monocytogenes

Project Summary

Listeria monocytogenes food-borne pathogen capable of causing severe invasive disease in humans, including meningoencephalitis and sepsis. Due to its propensity for transmission in food products and ability to cause illness, L. monocytogenes is monitored by a national surveillance system (OzFoodNet) to detect related strains that may be reflective of a contaminated food source and subsequent outbreak.

In recent years, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has become the new benchmark for surveillance of L. monocytogenes. The Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory is the Australian Listeria reference laboratory and routinely receives isolates for typing and strain comparison. This project aims to develop the WGS systems in place for routine national surveillance of L. monocytogenes and outbreak detection and investigation.

Project Partners

OzFoodNet, ACT, Australia

Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), Victoria, Australia

Australian Public Health Laboratory Network, Australia

FDA GenomeTrakr Project, USA

Publications

Sharing is caring: international sharing of data enhances genomic surveillance of Listeria monocytogenes

Kwong JC, Stafford R, Strain E, Stinear TP, Seemann T & Howden BP. Clin Infect Dis, 2016 (advance access); doi: 10.1093/cid/ciw359

Prospective whole genome sequencing enhances national surveillance of Listeria monocytogenes

Kwong JC, Mercoulia K, Tomita T, Easton M, Li HY, Bulach DM, Stinear TP, Seemann T & Howden BP. J Clin Microbiol, 2015 Nov; doi: 10.1128/JCM.02344-15