Lab Matters Summer 2021 | Page 58

APHL 2021 Poster Abstracts

Food Safety / Global Health

Detection and Isolation of Salmonella Concord from Tahini Associated with Two Multistate Salmonellosis Outbreaks

J . McConnell ¹ , J . Novak ¹ , Y . Chekoff ¹ , S . Silver ¹ , J . Wu ¹ , E . Gonzalez ¹ , F . Stavinsky ² , H . Waechter ³ , L . Li ³ , K . Devinney ³ , J . Latash ³ , V . Reddy ³ , E . Omoregie ¹ , J . Rakeman ¹ ; ¹ New York City Public Health Laboratory , New York City , NY , ² Office of Environmental Investigations , New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene , New York City , NY ,

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Bureau of Communicable Disease , New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene , New York City , NY

Food is a major source of over 1,000 cases of salmonellosis reported annually to the New York City ( NYC ) Health Department . When available , implicated foods reported by NYC patients are tested to determine their links to ongoing or suspected outbreaks . In late 2018 and early 2019 , tahini products from two separate imported brands , which were suspected to have caused salmonellosis in two distinct Salmonella Concord outbreaks , were tested at the NYC Public Health Laboratory . One outbreak involved eight cases from four states ( including two NYC residents ), and the other involved six cases from three states ( including four NYC residents ). During both outbreak investigations , tahini samples were collected from NYC restaurants where outbreak-associated patients had dined . Salmonella were enriched from suspected tahini products , isolated using selective media , and confirmed using biochemical and PCR-based methods . Serotyped Salmonella Concord isolates then underwent DNA typing using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis ( PFGE ) and whole genome multi locus sequence typing ( wgMLST ) analysis to determine relatedness . Results from these isolates were also compared with isolates recovered from outbreak-associated patients . PFGE and wgMLST analyses indicated that there were two distinctive strains of Salmonella Concord , one from each source of tahini . The two outbreak strains were 26 bands and over 2,000 alleles different from each other , confirming the two Salmonella Concord outbreaks were unrelated . Each strain was indistinguishable by PFGE and < 4 alleles different from patients ’ clinical isolates in each of the respective outbreaks . The food testing results allowed investigators to link the implicated tahini to the outbreaks and resulted in two separate Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) international recalls . FDA also issued a firstever warning letter to one of the importers for failure to follow the “ Foreign Supplier Verification Program Food Safety Rule ” of the Food Safety Modernization Act , which became law in 2011 and requires importers to ensure food was produced safely . The regulatory actions taken as a result of the NYC Public Health Laboratory ’ s findings prevented the spread of two salmonellosis outbreaks and illustrated the importance of DNA typing in the resolution of foodborne disease outbreaks .

Presenter : Jennifer McConnell , New York City Public Health Laboratory , jmcconnell @ health . nyc . gov

GLOBAL HEALTH

Global Laboratory Leadership Programme : Strong Leaders Support Strong Laboratory Systems and Contribute to Health Security

S . Musumeci ¹ , J . Isadore ¹ , S . Emery ¹ , B . Wilcke ² , L . Maryogo- Robinson ¹ ; ¹ Association of Public Health Laboratories , Silver Spring , MD , ² University of Vermont , Burlington , VT

APHL acknowledges the work of the Global Laboratory Leadership Programme ( GLLP ) partnership in the planning , development and implementation of the programme . To help ensure that laboratories can effectively play a critical role in the prevention , detection , and control of diseases , current and emerging laboratory leaders worldwide need specialized training in leadership and management . Leading organizations partnered to develop the GLLP targeting human and animal health laboratories , as well as laboratories with public health impact ( environmental , agricultural , food , or chemical laboratories ). The partners are the Association of Public Health Laboratories , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control , the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , the World Organisation for Animal Health and the World Health Organization . The GLLP partners are committed to the programme ’ s vision of laboratory leaders empowering national laboratory systems across the globe using a One Health approach to strengthen health security . International experts agree that laboratory leaders require certain core competencies to meet national , regional , and global disease prevention and control objectives . The Laboratory Leadership Competency Framework ( LLCF ) outlines the essential competencies needed by laboratory leaders to build and direct sustainable national laboratory systems and provides the foundation for the GLLP . The GLLP encapsulates the following nine core competencies outlined in the LLCF : Laboratory System , Leadership , Management , Communication , Quality Management System , Biosafety and Biosecurity , Disease Surveillance and Outbreak Investigation , Emergency Preparedness , Response , and Recovery , and Research .

The GLLP Partners are collaborating to fulfil the programme ’ s mission to provide laboratory professionals with the tools to develop their laboratory leadership competencies and advance effective national laboratory systems for improved health security using a One Health approach through the GLLP Learning Package . The programme is flexible in length , format , and content and may be adapted to meet country-specific workforce needs . The GLLP Learning Package provides the materials necessary to implement programmes in any country or educational institution in the world and includes GLLP Planning and Implementation Guides , GLLP Mentorship Guide and GLLP Learning Package course materials designed with a One Health focus . Laboratories , and their capacity to rapidly test and diagnose illness , are essential . Specialized training for laboratory leaders , such as the GLLP , support a country ’ s ability to respond to outbreaks and health emergencies .

Presenter : Jocelyn Isadore , Association of Public Health Laboratories , Jocelyn . isadore @ aphl . org