Evaluation of Genomic Typing Methods in the Salmonella Reference Laboratory in Public Health, England, 2012–2020

Abstract

We aim to provide an evidence-based evaluation of whole genome sequence (WGS) methods, employed at the Salmonella reference laboratory in England, in terms of its impact on public health and whether these methods remain a fit for purpose test under UKAS ISO 15189. The evaluation of the genomic methods were mapped against the value of detecting microbiological clusters to support the investigation of food-borne outbreaks of Salmonella in England between 2012–2020. The analysis of WGS with both SNP- and allelic-based methods provided an unprecedented level of strain discrimination and detection of additional clusters when comparing to all of the previous typing methods. The robustness of the routine genomic sequencing at the reference laboratory ensured confidence in the microbiological identifications, even in large outbreaks with complex international food distribution networks. There was evidence that the phylogeny derived from the WGS data can be used to inform the provenance of strains and support discrimination between domestic and non-domestic transmission events. Further insight on the evolutionary context of the emerging pathogenic strains was enabled with a deep dive of the phylogenetic data, including the detection of nested clusters. The public availability of the WGS data linked to the clinical, epidemiological and environmental context of the sequenced strains has improved the trace-back investigations during outbreaks. The global expansion in the use of WGS-based typing in reference laboratories has shown that the WGS methods are a fit for purpose test in public health as it has ensured the rapid implementation of interventions to protect public health, informed risk assessment and has facilitated the management of national and international food-borne outbreaks of Salmonella.