11th Annual PulseNet Update Meeting
A Collaborative Vision for the Future of Food Safety
Marriott Downtown, Providence, RI
April 16-19, 2007
Overview
More than 150 people attended the 11th annual PulseNet Update Meeting, held in Providence, RI, April 16-19, 2007. Speakers from several agencies, programs and institutions across the nation and around the globe were invited to present their ideas and explore the theme of the meeting: "A Collaborative Vision for the Future of Food Safety."
During the Welcome Session, CDC’s Peter Gerner-Smidt described the expansion of PulseNet USA to include agriculture, veterinary and academic laboratories, and he explained the key role played by PulseNet laboratories in the recent Salmonella outbreak associated with peanut butter. The Opening Session included a second talk by Gerner-Smidt on the Future of PulseNet and a presentation by FDA’s Karen Jinneman on the "Collaborative Networks that Enhance Food Safety." A panel discussion focused on federal surveillance systems that are designed to detect and investigate foodborne illnesses.
One of the major foodborne illness outbreaks of 2006 involved E. coli O157:H7 and fresh spinach. This outbreak was discussed in detail from the public health, regulatory and state epidemiology perspectives. A separate session presented scientific issues regarding produce-associated outbreaks.
PulseNet-specific presentations during the meeting addressed protocol updates, MLVA and SNP analysis, tools to evaluate pattern frequencies in BioNumerics, the significance of computer-reported PFGE matches, prioritization issues and the latest work of PulseNet International partners. A small-group breakout session covered a range of topics including Communication, Laboratory topics, PulseNet funding, Next Generation Methods, Data Interpretation, QA/QC and CLIA issues and PulseNet for new users.
Sincere thanks to the sponsors of the 2007 PulseNet Update Meeting: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Applied Maths Inc, Applied Biosystems and Beckman Coulter.
Slide Presentations
The following presentations have been authorized to be posted on this website. Not all the presentations are listed. Please cite presentation authors and the "APHL 11th PulseNet Update Meeting" when using these materials.
Note: See below for instructions on downloading and viewing large files more rapidly.
Monday, April 16
Welcome Session
PulseNet and Beyond (Peter Gerner-Smidt)
PulseStar Awards
Tuesday, April 17
Opening Session
The Future of PulseNet (Peter Gerner-Smidt)
Collaborative Networks Enhance Food Safety (Karen Jinneman)
Surveillance Systems
The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) (David White)
Bacterial Antimicrobial Resistance – A Global Issue (David White)
FERN: Surveillance for Foodborne Pathogens (Jane Getchell)
Produce Outbreaks
Outbreaks of enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 on leafy vegetables: Incidence, fitness on plants and source-tracking (Robert Mandrell)
Wednesday, April 18
Anatomy of an Outbreak
The Spinach Outbreak from a State Perspective (Bill Keene)
Summary of MLVA Results for the E. coli O157 Spinach Outbreak Isolates (Eija Hyytia-Trees)
Laboratory and National Databases Updates
Database Team Updates (Kelley Hise)
PFGE Updates (Kara Cooper)
MLVA Protocol Update (Eija Hyytia-Trees)
SNP Analysis as a Tool for Microbial Subtyping (Duncan MacCannell)
Clostridium botulinum Standardized PFGE Protocol Development (Elise Smith)
Serotype Information in the PulseNet Databases (Grant Williams)
Queries, Charts and Statistics Tools and Pattern Frequencies (Molly Joyner)
CDC Reminders (Nehal Patel)
The Significance of Computer-Reported PFGE Matches (Paul Vauterin)
Break-Out Session – Various Topics
A summary of this session will be posted when available
Poster Session
Poster Session Abstract Listing
Thursday, April 19
PulseNet International Activities
Comparisons of O157 PFGE patterns between USA and New Zealand (Brent Gilpin)
Optimization of Electrophoretic Parameters in Molecular Subtyping by PFGE (Biao Kan)
PulseNet International and WHO Global Salm-Surv Collaboration (Nikki Maxwell)
PulseNet International: 2006/2007 Update (Ahmed ElSedawy)
To save an Acrobat (pdf) file quickly: Right click on the desired version of the presentation and select "Save Target As." This will open a dialog box, allowing you to designate a file name and location.
To view/save an Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file: Click the PDF version of the presentation desired. This will open the presentation in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader within your Internet browser, where it can be viewed by clicking on the pages or using the arrows in the lower right. To save the file click on the "diskette" icon on the Acrobat toolbar, or click the "printer" icon to print directly from your browser. Click here to download the program from their Web site.