Pathogen Genomics in Public Health

Rapid advances in DNA sequencing technology (next-generation sequencing) have inspired optimism about the potential of human genomics for precision medicine. Meanwhile, pathogen genomics is already delivering precision public health through more effective investigations of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, better-targeted tuberculosis control, and more timely and granular influenza surveillance to inform the selection of vaccine strains. In this article, we describe how public health agencies have been adopting pathogen genomics to improve their effectiveness in almost all domains of infectious disease. This momentum is likely to continue, given the ongoing development in sequencing and sequencing-related technologies. The development of next-generation sequencing technology has had a major effect on a wide range of infectious diseases that affect public health. Next-generation sequencing promises to facilitate the diagnosis of outbreaks, the detection of drug resistance, and the selection of vaccine approaches and has many other applications.