What's New

Posted on Monday, March 9, 2020

A molecular biologist with CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria (DPDM), Eldin Talundzic, PhD, recently returned from Peru, where he taught researchers to identify molecular markers associated with drug-resistant malaria using Advanced Molecular Detection (AMD) technologies. The training was part of CDC’s Malaria Resistance Surveillance project, or MaRS, which aims to develop and implement AMD tools in the U.S. and global partner laboratories to help identify and track drug-resistant malaria. The goal is to standardize and accelerate the flow of data used to track drug resistance, making it easier for decision makers to shape their malaria prevention and treatment guidance.

Posted on Thursday, January 30, 2020

The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), a public health surveillance system, tracks antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause gastrointestinal and foodborne illness. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS), a new technology, has made this task easier. WGS lets scientists rapidly predict whether bacteria are resistant to antibiotics based on genetic information. In 2018, this information helped make the important distinction between two outbreaks occurring at the same time so public health officials could respond to each more effectively.

Posted on Wednesday, January 15th, 2020

To accompany a New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) special report, Pathogen Genomics in Public Healthexternal iconexternal icon, the Office of Advanced Molecular Detection (AMD) released a video, “Transforming Disease Detection,” which gives a brief introduction to next-generation sequencing (NGS) and explains how this technology can help solve outbreaks that, in the past, would not have been detectable.