Genomic Makers

The National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) aims to prevent disease, disability, and death caused by a wide range of infectious diseases. We focus on diseases that have been around for many years, emerging diseases (those that are new or just recently identified), and zoonotic diseases (those spread from animals to people). The agency’s work is guided in part by a holistic "One Health" strategy, which recognizes the vital interconnectedness of microbes and the environment. Through a comprehensive approach involving many scientific disciplines, we can attain better health for humans and animals and improve our environment. To carry out our mission, we use many different tactics: providing leadership in public health, conducting exemplary science, strengthening preparedness efforts, establishing public health policy, sharing vital health information with the public, and building partnerships. Each of the center's seven divisions works with partners to protect and improve the public's health in the United States and worldwide. The Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED) works nationally and internationally to stop and prevent diseases caused by contaminated food, water, or animal contact, and to detect and contain fungal infections. Part of the mission of the Enteric Diseases Laboratory Branch (EDLB) is to facilitate early foodborne outbreak detection and coordination of laboratory response. However, approximately 80% of the cases of foodborne illness reportedly annually in the US are due to unknown pathogens, and CDC records approximately 200 outbreaks of diarrheal illness of unknown cause. EDLB seeks to engage emerging technologies for pathogen detection directly from disease state stool to develop a novel and cost-effective toolkit for diarrheal outbreak investigations. As the first step in this toolkit, we will use highly multiplexed targeted amplicon sequencing panels to amplify many hundreds or thousands of short, informative pieces of DNA identifying known and suspected pathogens directly from stool. EDLB has previously collaborated with research partners to develop panels for antimicrobial resistance and foodborne pathogen subtyping. However, identifying these short, informative DNA regions for many dozens of known and suspected pathogen types is difficult and laborious to do manually. EDLB therefore seeks to engage a contractor to assist in the identification of short, informative regions of known and suspected diarrheal pathogens.