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National Typing Database

Background

Under the auspices of the Enteric Zoonotic Disease Research Steering Committee (EZDRSC), NZFSA, Ministry of Health (MoH) and Fonterra are jointly funding the establishment of a microbial typing database and network for zoonotic microorganisms with an initial focus on Campylobacter, Salmonella, STEC and Listeria. The project involves standardising pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) subtyping performed in New Zealand so that it is compatible with, although not limited to, international PulseNet methodology. The database itself will be based on Bionumerics software.

Key benefits include:

Ensuring comparability between New Zealand labs and with overseas databases through providing standard PFGE methods, standardised nomenclature, standard isolates and the electronic comparison of primarily PFGE typing.

Providing an archive of all PFGE typing that occur in New Zealand, hence facilitating the extension of epidemiological surveys and outbreak investigations, and more effectively detecting linkages between human case isolates and food/environmental isolates.

Allow participation in PulseNet Asia Pacific. This new network, which includes Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand etc, will enable regional based surveillance and communication that will be invaluable during outbreaks of emergent diseases through immediate analysis and comparison.

Capacity to detect and respond to bioterrorism, of which contamination of food and water with zoonotic microorganisms is practical and potentially effective.

NZFSA have agreed that the National Typing Database will be an important tool facilitating the identification of factors which, if controlled, should reduce the burden of human gastroenteritis in New Zealand. All NZFSA sponsored projects that isolate the aforementioned zoonotic hazards will be required to subtype isolates and submit the data to the National Typing Database.

Specific research projects

National Typing Database: Training and international certification modules (ESR Environmental, 2003-2005)

This project is a subset of a full programme described in ESR Client Report FW0268 entitled "Subtyping of zoonotic pathogens - The role of method standardisation, and electronic databases in the reduction of the infectious disease burden in New Zealand". The aim of this project is to develop training modules for laboratories.

In addition, this project will characterise by PFGE analysis a standard set of isolates of each species for quality control purposes with the US CDC.

National typing database (ESR Food, 2003-2005)

This project is a subset of the above programme specifically to provide food-specific input into the development of the National Typing Database though completion of PulseNet certification, participation in testing the pilot system, and validation of results from historical NZFSA and MoH projects against the new procedures.