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GEORGE HEARD / THINGS
Understanding “who infected who” is crucial for contact tracing and control measures, and applies whether a person is infected with Covid-19 or a herd of cattle with M. bovis.
Genome sequencing, the mapping of an organism’s genetic sequences, has helped track the spread of Covid-19 cases in Auckland, but it also plays an important role in controlling other infectious diseases in New Zealand.
An example is Mycoplasma bovis, a global livestock disease that New Zealand also hopes to eliminate.
It was first detected on a South Island dairy farm in July 2017 and was subsequently found on 250 properties across the country. Be active on a farm.
M. bovis It causes a variety of diseases in both adult cattle and calves, including pneumonia, arthritis, mastitis, conjunctivitis, and middle ear infections. The original source of the raid remains unknown, but the Ministry of Primary Industries, together with industry partners, is running a program to eliminate M. bovis from New Zealand.
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Sequencing, epidemiology, and evolutionary modeling help determine how it spreads between infected farms. Understanding “who infected whom” is critical to contact tracing and control measures, and applies whether a person is infected with Covid-19 or a herd M. bovis.
Eliminating human and animal pathogens
Several factors have contributed to the improvement of genome sequencing, including collaboration in New Zealand, an injection of new funding, and advances in modeling and visualization.
NEXTSTRAIN
This map shows how COVID-19 genome sequences trace transmission routes. Nextstrain, backed by GISAID data
In the case of Covid-19, the speed of transformation from the test sample to the viral genome sequence has increased dramatically, and the information is invaluable to New Zealand’s continued effort to eliminate community transmission.
Many disciplines and skill sets are involved in analyzing genome data and linking viral or bacterial sequences with epidemiological data on specific cases. New Zealand scientists work with international colleagues at the forefront of global projects to convert genome sequencing data into information for policy and action.
Aside from New Zealand’s effort to eliminate the disease from cattle, other programs to control infectious diseases also benefit from genome sequencing. These include bacteria transmitted between animals and people, such as Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter.
Strategies to reduce those transmitted by food Campylobacter New Zealand infections are reported using ‘source attribution’ models. These use bacterial sequences from human cases and animal hosts to determine the probable source of human infection.
This information has helped the Ministry of Primary Industries and the food industry to develop and implement policies to reduce the risk of food poisoning caused by Campylobacter.
From global to local control of infectious diseases
Genome sequencing, epidemiology, and evolutionary modeling have been combined to help understand the transmission pathways of infectious diseases at different scales. In New Zealand, these include the following:
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Global and severe influenza transmission E. coli infections for many decades
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Transmission of Salmonella between wildlife, livestock and people in New Zealand, and between New Zealand and Australia in returning travelers
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Identification of the source of the largest outbreak of a waterborne disease in New Zealand. Campylobacter infection, which affected more than 8,000 people and was caused by contamination of untreated groundwater with sheep faeces.
In recent years, the Ministry of Health has funded the Institute for Environmental Research and Sciences to routinely sequence bacteria that cause disease in people. This has supported outbreak control of Salmonella, E. coli, bacterial meningitis and antibiotic resistant bacteria.
New research at the New Zealand Food Safety Science and Research Center combines micro-mapping at the scale of farms and factories with genomics and modeling to control bacteria such as Listeria and Campylobacter. This helps to understand how microbes enter the food chain and how we can control them at the source.
Genome sequencing of new epidemics
We live in challenging times. We receive daily reminders of the consequences of our ability or inability to prevent and control emerging pathogens. Genome sequencing and modeling provide powerful opportunities to improve infectious disease management globally.
It is exciting and encouraging to witness these developments in New Zealand. Recent investment in the country’s sequencing capacity has led to an unprecedented acceleration in response times. This makes the findings much more useful in the front line of a rapidly evolving outbreak.
To reduce the impact of emerging diseases like Covid-19, we need sustained investment in these new technologies. Experts in human and animal infectious diseases must work together, alongside experts in public health, microbiology, molecular biology, epidemiology, and modeling.
We need to increase capacity and maintain scientific networks to respond quickly and effectively when the next disease crosses our borders.
– Nigel French is professor of veterinary public health and food safety at Massey University
– This story was first published on The Conversation.
