Hosted by Public Health Ontario
There is an increasing incorporation of pathogen whole genome sequencing (WGS) into infectious disease surveillance. The data that are generated may facilitate a better understanding of disease transmission at multiple levels including within discrete clusters. Its utility and implementation, however, still poses many challenges. Implementation is not necessarily consistent between different pathogens and a unique approach may be needed for different organisms or uses. To develop these approaches, it is necessary to understand the data produced from WGS, which data are clinically useful, and how to develop a framework which conveys necessary information to front line providers. This Microbiology Rounds presentation will describe the methods and challenges to the implementation and reporting of pathogen WGS for infectious diseases.
Intended audience: Public health physicians, public health staff working in surveillance, epidemiologists, researchers, medical microbiologists and public health laboratory staff.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe the use of pathogen WGS for infectious disease surveillance
- Develop a structured approach to analyze and interpret WGS data for infectious disease surveillance
- Discuss the implementation challenges for the development and interpretation of WGS data