PulseNet Canada

PulseNet Canada is the National Molecular Subtyping Network for Foodborne Disease Surveillance. This national network is administered by the National Microbiology Laboratory (Winnipeg), who is responsible for data collection and analysis, surveillance, foodborne disease outbreak detection and response, and for coordinating communication among the PulseNet Canada member laboratories.

The member laboratories include federal partners within the Public Health Agency of Canada (Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Guelph), Health Canada (Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Ottawa), and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (Ottawa), as well as the ten provincial public health laboratories/reference centres.

In addition to managing day-to-day operations and communication within PulseNet Canada laboratories, this section conducts training, administers the national certification and proficiency program, maintains communication and co-investigations with federal outbreak epidemiologists, and represents Canada within the PulseNet International network. This section also collects bacterial isolates for database validation and develops and evaluates new subtyping methods for foodborne bacterial disease.