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Europe’s journal on infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control Special edition: Advanced diagnostics to inform public health policy March 2019 Guest editor: Jacob Moran-Gilad Featuring • How do advanced diagnostics support public health policy development? • Impact of whole genome sequencing on the investigation of food-borne outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli serogroup O157:H7, England, 2013 to 2017 • and more... www.eurosurveillance.org Editorial team Editorial advisors Based at the European Centre for Albania: Alban Ylli, Tirana Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Austria: Maria Paulke-Korinek, Vienna 169 73 Stockholm, Sweden Belgium: Koen de Schrijver, Antwerp; Tinne Lernout, Brussels Telephone number Bosnia and Herzegovina: Nina Rodić Vukmir, Banja Luka +46 (0)8 58 60 11 38 Bulgaria: Iva Christova, Sofia E-mail Croatia: Sanja Music Milanovic, Zagreb [email protected] Cyprus: Maria Koliou, Nicosia Czech Republic: Jan Kynčl, Prague Editor-in-chief Denmark: Peter Henrik Andersen, Copenhagen Dr Ines Steffens Estonia: Kuulo Kutsar, Tallinn Senior editor Finland: Outi Lyytikäinen, Helsinki Kathrin Hagmaier France: Judith Benrekassa, Paris Germany: Jamela Seedat, Berlin Scientific editors Greece: Rengina Vorou, Athens Janelle Sandberg Hungary: Ágnes Hajdu, Budapest Karen Wilson Iceland: Gudrun Sigmundsdottir, Reykjavík Assistant editors Ireland: Joan O Donnell, Dublin Alina Buzdugan Italy: Paola De Castro, Rome Associate editors Latvia: Dzintars Mozgis, Riga Tommi Asikainen, Brussels, Belgium Lithuania: Saulius Čaplinskas, Vilnius Magnus Boman, Stockholm, Sweden Luxembourg: Thérèse Staub, Luxembourg Mike Catchpole, Stockholm, Sweden The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Aziz Pollozhani, Skopje Natasha Crowcroft, Toronto, Canada Malta: Tanya Melillo Fenech, Msida Christian Drosten, Berlin, Germany Montenegro: Senad BegiĆ, Podgorica Karl Ekdahl, Stockholm, Sweden Netherlands: Barbara Schimmer, Bilthoven Johan Giesecke, Stockholm, Sweden Norway: Emily MacDonald, Oslo David Heymann, London, United Kingdom Poland: Malgorzata Sadkowska-Todys, Warsaw Irena Klavs, Ljubljana, Slovenia Portugal: Paulo Jorge Nogueira, Lisbon Karl Kristinsson, Reykjavik, Iceland Romania: Daniela Pitigoi, Bucharest Daniel Lévy-Bruhl, Paris, France Serbia: Mijomir Pelemis, Belgrade Jacob Moran-Gilad, Beer-Sheva, Israel Slovakia: Lukáš Murajda, Bratislava Chantal Reusken, Bilthoven, the Netherlands Slovenia: Maja Sočan, Ljubljana Panayotis T. Tassios, Athens, Greece Spain: Josefa Masa Calle, Madrid Hélène Therre, Paris, France Sweden: Anders Wallensten, Stockholm Henriette de Valk, Paris, France Turkey: Fehminaz Temel, Ankara Sylvie van der Werf, Paris, France United Kingdom: Nick Phin, London Design / Layout World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe: Fabrice Donguy / Dragos Platon Masoud Dara, Copenhagen Online submission system http://www.editorialmanager.com/eurosurveillance/ www.eurosurveillance.org © Eurosurveillance, 2019 Contents special edition: Advanced diagnostics to Perspective inform public health policy Impact of whole genome sequencing on the investigation of food-borne outbreaks of Shiga toxin- editorial producing Escherichia coli serogroup O157:H7, England, 2013 to 2017 98 How do advanced diagnostics support public health Jenkins C et al. policy development? 2 Moran-Gilad J Surveillance and outbreak reports Whole genome sequencing–based analysis of Guest editor: Jacob Moran-Gilad, Ministry of tuberculosis (TB) in migrants: rapid tools for cross- Health, Jerusalem and Ben-Gurion University border surveillance and to distinguish between recent of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel transmission in the host country and new importations 6 Abascal et al. Professor Jacob Moran-Gilad is a board- Cocirculation of Hajj and non-Hajj strains among certified consultant clinical microbiologist serogroup W meningococci in Italy, 2000 to 2016 20 and in public health / medical epidemiology. Fazio et al. He is the principal investigator of the MAGICAL group (Microbiology, Advanced Genomics and Infection Control Application Research Articles Laboratory) at the Faculty of Health Culture-free genotyping of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Sciences, Ben-Gurion University (BGU) revealed distinct strains at different anatomical sites in and the Co-Chair of the BGU Research Hub a quarter of patients, the Netherlands, 2012 to 2016 29 for Infectious Diseases and One Health. His current research involves the development and validation of Van der Veer et al. laboratory methods for rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases, the Improvement of Legionnaires’ disease diagnosis using study of the molecular epidemiology of various pathogens of public real-time PCR assay: a retrospective analysis, Italy, health interest and the integration and application of new methods 2010 to 2015 38 in health protection, using advanced genomics and metagenomics. Ricci M L et al. He is also involved in research on public health microbiology policy Assessment of metagenomic Nanopore and Illumina and planning, and in exploring contemporary approaches for linking sequencing for recovering whole genome sequences of up medical epidemiology and cutting-edge microbiology to inform chikungunya and dengue viruses directly from clinical public health strategy. samples 43 Kafetzopoulou L E et al. As a senior consultant to Israeli Ministry of Health, he is focusing on Prospective genomic surveillance of methicillin- national strategy and policy-making in public health microbiology. resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) associated Under this capacity he is the Chair of several national infectious with bloodstream infection, England, 1 October 2012 disease programmes, involved in emergency preparedness to 30 September 2013 56 and response and chairs the National Advisory Committee for Microbiology. Professor Moran-Gilad is also the lead Clinical Toleman M et al. Microbiologist at Soroka University Medical Center, a 1,200-bed Whole genome sequencing of Salmonella Chester tertiary-care busy regional medical centre in Southern Israel and reveals geographically distinct clusters, Norway, oversees the microbiological diagnostic activities in that institution. 2000 to 2016 68 Siira L et al. At the international level, Professor Moran-Gilad is the Chairperson of the ESCMID Study Group for Genomic and Molecular Diagnostics Air-conditioner cooling towers as complex reservoirs (ESGMD), member of the board of the ESCMID Study Group for and continuous source of Legionella pneumophila infection evidenced by a genomic analysis study in Legionella Infections (ESGLI) responsible for microbiology and 2017, Switzerland 79 genomics and Chair of the International Working Group for whole genome sequencing of Legionella. Recently, he was appointed Wüthrich D et al. as the Deputy Programme Director and the designate Programme Director of ECCMID, the world’s leading conference on microbiology Review and infection. Jacob is as an Associate editor in the Eurosurveillance editorial board. Review of the impact of MALDI-TOF MS in public health and hospital hygiene, 2018 86 Rodriguez-Sanchez B et al. © Istockphoto www.eurosurveillance.org 1 Editorial How do advanced diagnostics support public health policy development? Jacob Moran-Gilad1,2 1. Dept. of Health Systems Management, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel 2. ESCMID Study Group for Genomic and Molecular Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland Correspondence: Jacob Moran-Gilad ([email protected]) Citation style for this article: Moran-Gilad Jacob. How do advanced diagnostics support public health policy development?. Euro Surveill. 2019;24(4):pii=1900068. https://doi. org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2019.24.4.1900068 Article submitted on 23 Jan 2019 / accepted on 24 Jan 2019 / published on 24 Jan 2019 Microbiologists working in clinical/diagnostic microbi- serve as a one-stop-shop for pathogen characterisa- ology or public health microbiology (mainly food, water tion, while allowing for unprecedented accuracy and and environmental), have experienced a major revolu- resolution [2]. tion of their profession over recent years. Technological advancements involving the development and imple- On the other hand, culture-independent microbiol- mentation of new analytical platforms have allowed for ogy involves the application of diagnostic techniques faster, more accurate and more complex diagnostics directly on clinical or non-clinical samples, while obvi- [1]. Some of these technologies are novel and emerge ating the need to recover an organism by culture. This as ‘disruptive technologies’, while others improve and approach has long been used in the field of virology, enhance existing diagnostic approaches. In this con- where virus isolation is rarely performed for routine text, how do we define ‘advanced diagnostics’? diagnostic purposes whereas it was not common prac- tice for other pathogens. However, culture-independ- Advanced diagnostics can be divided into several ent detection methods are also applicable to bacterial, groups, according to their methodological approach as fungal and parasitic diseases. With culture-independ- well as their practical applications. One such division ent microbiology, several diagnostic strategies are now differentiates between culture-dependent (culture- commonly used also for the latter group of pathogens, based) and culture-independent microbiology (Table). including the application of PCR assays targeting spe- With culture-based diagnostics,