Publications by authors named "Kaitlin A Tagg"

Article Synopsis
  • * The study examined 438 isolates from 100 outbreaks to establish guidelines for detecting disease clusters and analyzed them for genetic variations and antimicrobial resistance.
  • * Most outbreaks had close genetic similarities, indicating they were related, while some showed more variation, suggesting differing pathogen sources and evolving resistance patterns.
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Objectives: The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducts active surveillance for typhoid fever cases caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Typhi). Here we describe the characteristics of the first two cases of mph(A)-positive azithromycin-resistant Typhi identified through US surveillance.

Methods: Isolates were submitted to public health laboratories, sequenced, and screened for antimicrobial resistance determinants and plasmids, as part of CDC PulseNet's routine genomic surveillance.

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Bacterial relatedness measured using select chromosomal loci forms the basis of public health genomic surveillance. While approximating vertical evolution through this approach has proven exceptionally valuable for understanding pathogen dynamics, it excludes a fundamental dimension of bacterial evolution-horizontal gene transfer. Incorporating the accessory genome is the logical remediation and has recently shown promise in expanding epidemiological resolution for enteric pathogens.

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In 2020, an outbreak of Hadar illnesses was linked to contact with non-commercial, privately owned (backyard) poultry including live chickens, turkeys, and ducks, resulting in 848 illnesses. From late 2020 to 2021, this Hadar strain caused an outbreak that was linked to ground turkey consumption. Core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) analysis determined that the Hadar isolates detected during the outbreak linked to backyard poultry and the outbreak linked to ground turkey were closely related genetically (within 0-16 alleles).

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Background: The Global Typhoid Genomics Consortium was established to bring together the typhoid research community to aggregate and analyse serovar Typhi (Typhi) genomic data to inform public health action. This analysis, which marks 22 years since the publication of the first Typhi genome, represents the largest Typhi genome sequence collection to date (n=13,000).

Methods: This is a meta-analysis of global genotype and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants extracted from previously sequenced genome data and analysed using consistent methods implemented in open analysis platforms GenoTyphi and Pathogenwatch.

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Genomic characterization of an Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain linked to leafy greens-associated outbreaks dates its emergence to late 2015. One clade has notable accessory genomic content and a previously described mutation putatively associated with increased arsenic tolerance. This strain is a reoccurring, emerging, or persistent strain causing illness over an extended period.

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Background: Antimicrobial resistance in nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) can limit treatment options. We assessed the contribution of international travel to antimicrobial-resistant NTS infections.

Methods: We describe NTS infections that were reported to the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network during 2018-2019 and screened for genetic resistance determinants, including those conferring decreased susceptibility to first-line agents (ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, or azithromycin).

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified nontyphoidal Salmonella as one of the top five pathogens contributing to foodborne illnesses in the United States. Beef continues to be a common source of Salmonella outbreaks, despite the implementation of interventions at slaughter and processing facilities to reduce contamination of beef. We described Salmonella outbreaks linked to beef in the United States during 2012-2019, examined trends, and identified potential targets for intervention and prevention strategies.

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Despite being linked to a number of recent poultry-associated outbreaks in the United States, few reference genomes are available for Salmonella enterica serotype Hadar. Here, we address this need by reporting 18 Salmonella Hadar genomes from samples collected from patients in the United States between 2014 and 2020.

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Between 2018 and 2019, Salmonella enterica serotype Reading caused a large, multistate outbreak linked to contact with raw turkey products in the United States. Here, we provide five Salmonella Reading reference genomes collected from US patients between 2016 and 2018.

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In the United States, reports of Salmonella enterica carrying -1 remain rare in humans, but when observed, the infection is often associated with travel. Here, we report 14 -1-positive Salmonella enterica isolates from patients in the United States that reported travel to the Dominican Republic within the 12 months before illness.

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In December 2018, PulseNet, the national laboratory network for enteric disease surveillance, identified an increase in Salmonella Typhimurium isolates with an uncommon pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern which was previously isolated from hedgehogs. CDC, state, and local health partners interviewed patients with a questionnaire that focused on hedgehog exposures, conducted traceback of patients' hedgehog purchases, and collected hedgehog faecal pellets and environmental samples. Isolates in this outbreak were analysed using core-genome multi-locus sequence typing (cgMLST) and compared to sequence data from historic clinical isolates from a 2011-2013 outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium illnesses linked to pet hedgehogs.

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In August 2016, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services notified the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of multidrug-resistant (MDR) serovar Heidelberg infections in people who reported contact with dairy calves.

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Cases of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid fever have been reported in the United States among patients who did not travel internationally. Clinicians should consider if and where the patient traveled when selecting empiric treatment for typhoid fever. XDR typhoid fever should be treated with a carbapenem, azithromycin, or both.

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Background: Plasmids are mobile genetic elements, key in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance, virulence determinants and other adaptive traits in bacteria. Obtaining a robust method for plasmid classification is necessary to better understand the genetics and epidemiology of many pathogens. Until now, plasmid classification systems focused on specific traits, which limited their precision and universality.

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Article Synopsis
  • Infantis, a type of bacteria common in poultry, has been found to carry genetic elements that make it resistant to multiple drugs, with four multidrug-resistant strains identified in the Galapagos Islands.
  • Whole-genome sequencing revealed that three of these strains have a specific resistance gene on a plasmid and are closely related to strains from the U.S. and Latin America, suggesting a shared ancestry.
  • This discovery is significant as it marks the first detection of such resistant strains in the Galapagos, emphasizing the need for better monitoring of drug-resistant pathogens in the region.
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Infantis carrying extended spectrum β-lactamase on a pESI-like megaplasmid has recently emerged in United States poultry. In order to determine the carriage rate and gene content variability of this plasmid in U.S.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The use of core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) provided better resolution without needing a reference genome, successfully categorizing outbreak isolates into two clades, while predicting high antimicrobial resistance across the isolates.
  • * WGS facilitated the genetic identification of antimicrobial resistance and linked human cases to pet store puppies despite limited canine exposure information, enhancing the overall epidemiological investigation.
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Ceftriaxone-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (Typhi), the bacterium that causes typhoid fever, is a growing public health threat. Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Typhi is resistant to ceftriaxone and other antibiotics used for treatment, including ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (1). In March 2018, CDC began enhanced surveillance for ceftriaxone-resistant Typhi in response to an ongoing outbreak of XDR typhoid fever in Pakistan.

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A multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype Anatum strain reported in Taiwan was isolated in the United States from patients and from seafood imported from Asia. Isolates harbored 11 resistance determinants, including quinolone and inducible cephalosporin resistance genes. Most patients had traveled to Asia.

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Two separate human outbreaks of serotype Reading occurred between 2017 and 2019 in the United States and Canada, and both outbreaks were linked to the consumption of raw turkey products. In this study, a comprehensive genomic investigation was conducted to reconstruct the evolutionary history of Reading from turkeys and to determine the genomic context of outbreaks involving this infrequently isolated serotype. A total of 988 isolates of U.

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A large outbreak of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) serotype Typhi infections is ongoing in Pakistan, predominantly in Sindh Province. Here, we report the sequencing and characterization of five XDR Typhi isolates from the Punjab province of Pakistan that are closely related to the outbreak strain and carry the same IncY plasmid.

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Plasmids are important in carrying antibiotic resistance and other genes between bacterial cells, and a number of methods can be employed to characterize plasmids from clinical isolates. Single colonies typically obtained as part of hospital workflow can undergo S1 nuclease treatment to linearize plasmids followed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to enable determination of the number and sizes of plasmids present. Hybridization of S1/PFGE gels can be used to associate replicon types and passenger genes, such as those conferring antibiotic resistance, with a particular plasmid band.

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To reveal the occurrence and mechanisms for dispersal of antibiotic resistance (AbR) among the microbial assemblages inhabiting impacted coastal environments, we performed a weekly, two-year duration time-series study at two urban beaches between 2014 and 2016. We combined quantitative PCR and multiplex PCR/reverse line blot techniques to track patterns in the occurrence of 31 AbR genes, including genes that confer resistance to antibiotics that are critically important antimicrobials for human medicine. Patterns in the abundance of these genes were linked to specific microbial groups and environmental parameters by coupling qPCR and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data with network analysis.

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Enterobacteriaceae, quinolone resistance is largely attributed to mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDR) of , , and , and plasmid-italiciated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes (e.g., genes, , or ).

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