Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the “non-culturable” bacterium Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum. Following decades of low incidence, infectious syphilis is on the rise in Canada, leading to an unprecedented number of cases. Current syphilis surveillance is often limited to case counting in different demographic groups, and little is known about the strain type causing disease in current outbreaks. This PHO Microbiology Rounds will present new genomic information that will improve our capacity to effectively track syphilis diversity and distribution as well as gather information on antimicrobial resistance to inform on alternative treatment options, leading to better patient and public health outcomes. Cost effective metagenomic solutions are needed to develop a robust syphilis surveillance program in Canada. We have tested multiple metagenomic methods for capturing T. pallidum whole genome sequences. We will show the potential of this data which can be leveraged to fill the knowledge gap of T. pallidum strain types circulating in Canada and track antimicrobial resistance.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe the change in syphilis epidemiology in Canada and abroad
- Describe the Treponema genome and the value of a genomic epidemiology program for syphilis
- Describe challenges associated with whole genome sequencing of Treponema
- Discuss approaches to sequencing a non-culturable bacterium
Presenter(s): Tom Braukmann, PhD
The presentation can be found here: www.publichealthontario.ca/en...