抄録
PulseNet Japan is a network system for utilizing epidemiological information and the results of laboratory investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks. We have been analyzing DNA pattern of foodborne pathogens such as enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) isolates by the use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The method, capable of discriminating genotypical difference of the isolates, enabled us to find the contaminated food such as salmon roe which was the causative agent for the multiprefectual outbreaks in Japan. PFGE results of the isolates and other epidemiological information have been accumulated to construct database for foodborne bacterial pathogens for sharing and making use of the information among municipal public health institutes, National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
