Personal Injury Law

PulseNet Annual Meeting Chicago

By Bill Marler, Esq.

I have the privilege to speak before the Annual Meeting of PulseNet in Chicago in a few weeks. As some may know, PulseNet is a national network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The network consists of: state health departments, local health departments, and federal agencies (CDC, USDA/FSIS, FDA).

PulseNet participants perform standardized molecular subtyping (or 'fingerprinting') of foodborne disease-causing bacteria by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). PFGE can be used to distinguish strains of organisms such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria, or Campylobacter at the DNA level. DNA 'fingerprints,' or patterns, are submitted electronically to a dynamic database at the CDC. These databases are available on-demand to participants—this allows for rapid comparison of the patterns.

Its Objectives are:

• Detect foodborne disease case clusters by PFGE
• Allow for real-time communication among state, local health departments, and international partners
• Facilitate early identification of common source outbreaks
• Help food regulatory agencies identify areas where implementation of new measures are likely to increase the safety of our food supply

Full post as published by Marler Blog on August 09, 2010 (boomark / email).