image

 

Molecular Microbiology

DIAGNOSTIC PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE

THIRD EDITION

 

Molecular Microbiology

DIAGNOSTIC PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE

THIRD EDITION

EDITORS IN CHIEF

David H. Persing

Cepheid, Sunnyvale, California

Fred C. Tenover

Cepheid, Sunnyvale, California

EDITORS

Randall T. Hayden

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee

Margareta Ieven

Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (VIDI), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

Melissa B. Miller

University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Frederick S. Nolte

Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

Yi-Wei Tang

Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, New York, New York

Alex van Belkum

bioMérieux, La Balme Les Grottes, France

image

 

Cover: courtesy of Jared Tipton, Cepheid, Sunnyvale, California

Copyright © 2016 by ASM Press. ASM Press is a registered trademark of the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part or reutilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Disclaimer: To the best of the publisher’s knowledge, this publication provides information concerning the subject matter covered that is accurate as of the date of publication. The publisher is not providing legal, medical, or other professional services. Any reference herein to any specific commercial products, procedures, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favored status by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). The views and opinions of the author(s) expressed in this publication do not necessarily state or reflect those of ASM, and they shall not be used to advertise or endorse any product.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Persing, David H., editor.

Title: Molecular microbiology : diagnostic principles and practice / editors: David H. Persing [and seven others].

Description: 3rd ed. | Washington, DC : ASM Press, [2016] | ?2016

Identifiers: LCCN 2016012321 (print) | LCCN 2016014483 (ebook) | ISBN 9781555819088 | ISBN 9781683673286 ()

Subjects: LCSH: Diagnostic microbiology. | Molecular microbiology. | Molecular diagnosis.

Classification: LCC QR67 .M65 2016 (print) | LCC QR67 (ebook) | DDC 616.9/041—dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016012321

doi:10.1128/9781555819071

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Address editorial correspondence to: ASM Press, 1752 N St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036-2904, USA.

Send orders to: ASM Press, P.O. Box 605, Herndon, VA 20172, USA.

Phone: 800-546-2416; 703-661-1593. Fax: 703-661-1501.

E-mail: books@asmusa.org

Online: http://estore.asm.org

 

CONTENTS

Contributors

Preface

section I

NOVEL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

1   Nucleic Acid Amplification Methods Overview

FREDERICK S. NOLTE AND CARL T. WITTWER

2   Application of Identification of Bacteria by DNA Target Sequencing in a Clinical Microbiology Laboratory

KARISSA D. CULBREATH, KEITH E. SIMMON, AND CATHY A. PETTI

3   Microbial Whole-Genome Sequencing: Applications in Clinical Microbiology and Public Health

M. E. TÖRÖK AND S. J. PEACOCK

4   Digital PCR and Its Potential Application to Microbiology

JIM F. HUGGETT, JEREMY A. GARSON, AND ALEXANDRA S. WHALE

5   Massively Parallel DNA Sequencing and Microbiology

ULF GYLLENSTEN, RUSSELL HIGUCHI, AND DAVID PERSING

6   Next-Generation Sequencing

CHARLES CHIU AND STEVE MILLER

7   Pathogen Discovery

EFREM S. LIM AND DAVID WANG

8   Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry for Microbial Identification in Clinical Microbiology

ALEX VAN BELKUM, VICTORIA GIRARD, MAUD ARSAC, AND ROBIN PATEL

9   Multiplex Technologies

KEVIN ALBY AND MELISSA B. MILLER

section II

METAGENOMICS: IMPLICATIONS FOR DIAGNOSTICS

10 The Skin Microbiome: Insights into Potential Impact on Diagnostic Practice

ELIZABETH A. GRICE

11 The Gastrointestinal Microbiome

ABRIA MAGEE, JAMES VERSALOVIC, AND RUTH ANN LUNA

12 The Vaginal Microbiome

DAVID N. FREDRICKS

13 Microbial Communities of the Male Urethra

BARBARA VAN DER POL AND DAVID E. NELSON

14 The Human Virome in Health and Disease

KRISTINE M. WYLIE AND GREGORY A. STORCH

section III

HEALTH CARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS

15 Molecular Detection of Staphylococcus aureus Colonization and Infection

KATHY A. MANGOLD AND LANCE R. PETERSON

16 Molecular Diagnostics for Clostridium difficile

FRÉDÉRIC BARBUT AND CURTIS J. DONSKEY

17 Overview of Molecular Diagnostics in Multiple-Drug-Resistant Organism Prevention: Focus on Multiple-Drug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacterial Organisms

KAEDE V. SULLIVAN AND DANIEL J. DIEKEMA

18 Detection of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci

ALLISON J. MCGEER AND BARBARA M. WILLEY

section IV

MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS AND PUBLIC HEALTH

19 The Impact of Molecular Diagnostics on Surveillance of Foodborne Infections

JOHN BESSER, HEATHER CARLETON, RICHARD GOERING, AND PETER GERNER-SMIDT

20 Role of Molecular Methods in Improving Public Health Surveillance of Infections Caused by Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria in Health Care and Community Settings

FRED C. TENOVER

21 Molecular Diagnostics: Huge Impact on the Improvement of Public Health in China

HUI WANG, BIN CAO, YAWEI ZHANG, AND SHUGUANG LI

22 Surveillance and Epidemiology of Norovirus Infections

JOHN P. HARRIS

23 Molecular Diagnostic Assays for the Detection and Control of Zoonotic Diseases

J. SCOTT WEESE

section V

SYNDROMIC DIAGNOSTICS

24 Molecular Approaches to the Diagnosis of Meningitis and Encephalitis

KAREN C. BLOCH AND YI-WEI TANG

25 Using Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques in a Syndrome-Oriented Approach: Detection of Respiratory Agents

KATHERINE LOENS AND MARGARETA IEVEN

26 Molecular and Mass Spectrometry Detection and Identification of Causative Agents of Bloodstream Infections

ONYA OPOTA, KATIA JATON, GUY PROD’HOM, AND GILBERT GREUB

27 Molecular Diagnosis of Gastrointestinal Infections

BENJAMIN A. PINSKY AND NIAZ BANAEI

28 Diagnostic Approaches to Genitourinary Tract Infections

CLAIRE C. BRISTOW AND JEFFREY D. KLAUSNER

29 Syndromic Diagnostic Approaches to Bone and Joint Infections

ALEXANDER J. MCADAM

section VI

VIROLOGY

30 Molecular Detection and Characterization of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1

ANGELA M. CALIENDO AND COLLEEN S. KRAFT

31 Molecular Detection and Characterization of Hepatitis C Virus

MICHAEL S. FORMAN AND ALEXANDRA VALSAMAKIS

32 Molecular Detection and Characterization of Hepatitis B Virus

JEFFREY J. GERMER AND JOSEPH D. C. YAO

33 Molecular Detection of Human Papillomaviruses

DENISE I. QUIGLEY AND ELIZABETH R. UNGER

34 Molecular Diagnostics for Viral Infections in Transplant Recipients

MATTHEW J. BINNICKER AND RAYMUND R. RAZONABLE

section VII

FUNGI AND PROTOZOA

35 Molecular Detection and Identification of Fungal Pathogens

KATRIEN LAGROU, JOHAN MAERTENS, AND MARIE PIERRE HAYETTE

36 Molecular Approaches for Diagnosis of Chagas’ Disease and Genotyping of Trypanosoma cruzi

PATRICIO DIOSQUE, NICOLAS TOMASINI, AND MICHEL TIBAYRENC

37 Molecular Approaches for Diagnosis of Malaria and the Characterization of Genetic Markers for Drug Resistance

LISA C. RANFORD-CARTWRIGHT AND LAURA CIUFFREDA

38 Molecular Detection of Gastrointestinal Parasites

JACO J. VERWEIJ, ALEX VAN BELKUM, AND C. RUNE STENSVOLD

section VIII

POINT-OF-CARE/NEAR-CARE DIAGNOSTICS

39 Molecular Diagnostics and the Changing Face of Point-of-Care

DAVID L. DOLINGER AND ANNE M. WHALEN

40 Point-of-Care Technologies for the Diagnosis of Active Tuberculosis

GRANT THERON

41 Molecular Diagnostics for Use in HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Resource-Limited Settings

MAURINE M. MURTAGH

42 Rapid Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Malaria and Dengue Infection

LIESELOTTE CNOPS, MARJAN VAN ESBROECK, AND JAN JACOBS

section IX

THE HOST AND HOST RESPONSE

43 Implications of Pharmacogenetics for Antimicrobial Prescribing

AR KAR AUNG, ELIZABETH J. PHILLIPS, TODD HULGAN, AND DAVID W. HAAS

44 Exploiting MicroRNA (miRNA) Profiles for Diagnostics

ABHIJEET BAKRE AND RALPH A. TRIPP

45 Host Response in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

PAUL J. MCLAREN AND AMALIO TELENTI

46 Biomarkers of Gastrointestinal Host Responses to Microbial Infections

RANA E. EL FEGHALY, HANSRAJ BANGAR, AND DAVID B. HASLAM

section X

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

47 Point-of-Care Medical Device Connectivity: Developing World Landscape

JEFF BAKER

48 WHONET: Software for Surveillance of Infecting Microbes and Their Resistance to Antimicrobial Agents

JOHN STELLING AND THOMAS F. O’BRIEN

49 Cloud-Based Surveillance, Connectivity, and Distribution of the GeneXpert Analyzers for Diagnosis of Tuberculosis (TB) and Multiple-Drug-Resistant TB in South Africa

WENDY S. STEVENS, BRAD CUNNINGHAM, NASEEM CASSIM, NATASHA GOUS, AND LESLEY E. SCOTT

section XI

QUALITY ASSURANCE

50 Molecular Method Verification

DONNA M. WOLK AND ELIZABETH M. MARLOWE

51 Molecular Microbiology Test Quality Assurance and Monitoring

MATTHEW J. BANKOWSKI

52 Proficiency Testing and External Quality Assessment for Molecular Microbiology

ROBERTA M. MADEJ

53 Practices of Sequencing Quality Assurance

KARA L. NORMAN AND DAVID M. DINAUER

54 Verification and Validation of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry-Based Protocols

MATTHEW L. FARON, BLAKE W. BUCHAN, AND NATHAN A. LEDEBOER

section XII

THE BUSINESS OF DIAGNOSTICS

55 Improved Diagnostics in Microbiology: Developing a Business Case for Hospital Administration

ELIZABETH M. MARLOWE, SUSAN M. NOVAK-WEEKLEY, AND MARK LAROCCO

56 Molecular Diagnostics and the Changing Legal Landscape

MARK L. HAYMAN, JING WANG, AND JEFFREY M. LIBBY

Index

 

CONTRIBUTORS

KEVIN ALBY

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104

MAUD ARSAC

bioMérieux SA, R&D Microbiology, 3 Route de Port Michaud, 38390 La Balme Les Grottes, France

AR KAR AUNG

Department of General Medicine and Infectious Diseases, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

JEFF BAKER

JESA Consulting, 63 Putnam Street, Suite 203, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

ABHIJEET BAKRE

University of Georgia, Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Athens, GA 30602

NIAZ BANAEI

Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, and Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, CA 94304

HANSRAJ BANGAR

Division of Infectious Disease, Cincinnati Children Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229

MATTHEW J. BANKOWSKI

Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Inc. (The Queen’s Medical Center), Microbiology Department, Aiea, HI 96701, and John A. Burns School of Medicine and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Pathology, Honolulu, HI 96813

FRÉDÉRIC BARBUT

UHLIN (Unité d’Hygiène et de Lutte contre les Infections Nosocomiales), National Reference Laboratory for Clostridium difficile, Groupe Hospitalier de l’Est Parisien (HUEP), Site Saint-Antoine, 75012 Paris, France

JOHN BESSER

Enteric Disease Laboratory Branch, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333

MATTHEW J. BINNICKER

Mayo Clinic, Clinical Microbiology, 200 First Street SW - Hilton 454, Rochester, MN 55905

KAREN C. BLOCH

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, A-2200 MCN, Nashville, TN 37232

CLAIRE C. BRISTOW

Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093

BLAKE W. BUCHAN

Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 9200 West Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53226

ANGELA M. CALIENDO

Department of Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903

BIN CAO

China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China 100029

HEATHER CARLETON

Enteric Disease Laboratory Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30333

NASEEM CASSIM

Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Third Floor, Room 3B22, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa

CHARLES CHIU

University of California, San Francisco, Laboratory Medicine, 185 Berry Street, Suite 290, Box #0134, San Francisco, CA 94107

LAURA CIUFFREDA

University of Glasgow, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Sir Graeme Davies Building, 120 University Place, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8TA, United Kingdom

LIESELOTTE CNOPS

Institute of Tropical Medicine, Clinical Sciences, Kronenburgstraat 43/3, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium

KARISSA D. CULBREATH

Department of Pathology, University of New Mexio Health Sciences Center, and TriCore Reference Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87102

BRAD CUNNINGHAM

Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Third Floor, Room 3B22, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa

DANIEL J. DIEKEMA

University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242

DAVID M. DINAUER

Thermo Fisher Scientific, 9099 N Deerbrook Trail, Brown Deer, WI 53223

PATRICIO DIOSQUE

Unidad de Epidemiología Molecular, Instituto de Patología Experimental, CONICET, Argentina

DAVID L. DOLINGER

FIND, Geneve, Geneva CH1211, Switzerland

CURTIS J. DONSKEY

Infectious Diseases Section 1110(W), Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 10701 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106

RANA E. EL FEGHALY

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216

MATTHEW L. FARON

Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 9200 West Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53226

MICHAEL S. FORMAN

Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 North Wolfe Street, Meyer B1-193, Baltimore, MD 21287

DAVID N. FREDRICKS

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109

JEREMY A. GARSON

Research Department of Infection, Division of Infection and Immunity, UCL, London, United Kingdom

JEFFREY J. GERMER

Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905

PETER GERNER-SMIDT

Enteric Disease Laboratory Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, Georgia 30333

VICTORIA GIRARD

bioMérieux SA, R&D Microbiology, 3 Route de Port Michaud, 38390 La Balme Les Grottes, France

RICHARD GOERING

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178

NATASHA GOUS

Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Third Floor, Room 3B22, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa

GILBERT GREUB

Institute of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Service, University of Lausanne and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland

ELIZABETH A. GRICE

University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, 421 Curie Blvd, 1007 BRB II/III, Philadelphia, PA 19104

ULF GYLLENSTEN

Uppsala University, Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science of Life Laboratory Uppsala, Biomedical Center, Box 815, SE-751 08 Uppsala, Sweden

DAVID W. HAAS

Vanderbilt Health - One Hundred Oaks, 719 Thompson Lane, Suite 47183, Nashville, TN 37204

JOHN P. HARRIS

Public Health England, Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control, 61 Colindale Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom

DAVID B. HASLAM

Division of Infectious Disease, Cincinnati Children Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229

MARIE PIERRE HAYETTE

University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium

MARK L. HAYMAN

Intellectual Property Practice Group, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, One Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110

RUSSELL HIGUCHI

Cepheid, 904 Caribbean Dr., Sunnyvale, CA 94089

JIM F. HUGGETT

Molecular and Cell Biology, LGC, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LY, United Kingdom

TODD HULGAN

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, A2200 MCN, 1161 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37232

MARGARETA IEVEN

University Hospital Antwerp, Department of Medical Microbiology, Wilrijkstraat 10, Antwerp, 2650, Belgium

JAN JACOBS

Institute of Tropical Medicine, Clinical Sciences, Kronenburgstraat 43/3, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium

KATIA JATON

Institute of Microbiology, University of Lausanne and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland

JEFFREY D. KLAUSNER

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, and Department of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024

COLLEEN S. KRAFT

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University, 1364 Clifton Rd, NE, Atlanta, GA 30322

KATRIEN LAGROU

KU Leuven— University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Laboratory Medicine and National Reference Center for Mycosis, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium

MARK LAROCCO

MTL Consulting, Erie, PA 16506

NATHAN A. LEDEBOER

Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 9200 West Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53226

SHUGUANG LI

Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, China 100044

JEFFREY M. LIBBY

Mendel Biological Solutions, LLP, 3935 Point Eden Way, Hayward, CA 94545

EFREM S. LIM

Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Pathology & Immunology, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8230, Saint Louis, MO 63110

KATHERINE LOENS

University Hospital Antwerp, Department of Medical Microbiology, Wilrijkstraat 10, Antwerp, 2650, Belgium

RUTH ANN LUNA

Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, 1102 Bates Street, Feigin Center Suite 830, Houston, TX 77030

ROBERTA M. MADEJ

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Clinical Laboratory-Microbiology, Berkeley, CA 94705

JOHAN MAERTENS

KU Leuven— University of Leuven, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Hematology, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium

ABRIA MAGEE

Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030

KATHY A. MANGOLD

NorthShore University HealthSystem, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 2650 Ridge Ave., Burch Bldg., Room 116, Evanston, IL 60201

ELIZABETH M. MARLOWE

The Permanente Medical Group, Berkeley, CA 94710

ALEXANDER J. MCADAM

Infectious Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115

ALLISON J. MCGEER

Infection Control, Room 210, Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5

PAUL J. MCLAREN

School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

STEVE MILLER

University of California, San Francisco, Laboratory Medicine, 185 Berry Street, Suite 290, Box #0100, San Francisco, CA 94107

MELISSA B. MILLER

Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, UNC Hospitals, 101 Manning Drive, East Wing 1033, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

MAURINE M. MURTAGH

The Murtagh Group, LLC, 2134 Stockbridge Avenue, Woodside, CA 94062

DAVID E. NELSON

Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Indianapolis, IN 46202

FREDERICK S. NOLTE

Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 171 Ashley Avenue, MSC 908, Charleston, SC 29425

KARA L. NORMAN

Department of Research and Development, Thermo Fisher Quality Controls, Thermo Fisher Scientific, 6010 Egret Court, Benicia, CA 94510

SUSAN M. NOVAK-WEEKLEY

Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Microbiology, 11668 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, CA 91605

THOMAS F. O’BRIEN

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Microbiology Laboratory, WHO Collaborating Centre for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115

ONYA OPOTA

Institute of Microbiology, University of Lausanne and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland

ROBIN PATEL

Mayo Clinic, Division of Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infectious Diseases, Rochester, MN 55905

S. J. PEACOCK

University of Cambridge, Department of Medicine, Box 157 Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom

DAVID PERSING

Cepheid, 904 Caribbean Dr., Sunnyvale, CA 94089

LANCE R. PETERSON

NorthShore University HealthSystem, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 2650 Ridge Ave., Burch Bldg., Room 116, Evanston, IL 60201

CATHY A. PETTI

4HealthSpring Global, Inc., Bradenton, FL 34209

ELIZABETH J. PHILLIPS

Vanderbilt University, 1493 Willowbrooke Circle, Franklin, TN 37069

BENJAMIN A. PINSKY

Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, and Clinical Virology Laboratory, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, CA 94304

GUY PROD’HOM

Institute of Microbiology, University of Lausanne and University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland

DENISE I. QUIGLEY

Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Kaiser Permanente North West Regional Laboratory, 13705 North East Airport Way, Portland, OR 97230

LISA C. RANFORD-CARTWRIGHT

University of Glasgow, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Sir Graeme Davies Building, 120 University Place, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8TA, United Kingdom

RAYMUND R. RAZONABLE

Mayo Clinic, Clinical Microbiology, 200 First Street SW - Hilton 454, Rochester, MN 55905

LESLEY E. SCOTT

Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Third Floor, Room 3B22, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa

KEITH E. SIMMON

Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108

JOHN STELLING

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Microbiology Laboratory, WHO Collaborating Centre for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115

C. RUNE STENSVOLD

Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark

WENDY S. STEVENS

Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Third Floor, Room 3B22, Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa

GREGORY A. STORCH

Washington University School of Medicine, Pediatrics, 660 S Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8116, St. Louis, MO 63110

KAEDE V. SULLIVAN

University of Pennsylvania, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 34th Street & Civic Center Blvd., Main Building, Room 5112A, Philadelphia, PA 19104

YI-WEI TANG

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Clinical Microbiology Service, 1275 York Avenue, S328, New York, NY 10065

AMALIO TELENTI

J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037

FRED C. TENOVER

Cepheid, 904 Caribbean Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089

GRANT THERON

DST/NRF of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, and MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa; Lung Infection and Immunity Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa

MICHEL TIBAYRENC

Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle, MIVEGEC (IRD 224-CNRS 5290-UM1-UM2), IRD Center, Montpellier, France

NICOLAS TOMASINI

Unidad de Epidemiología Molecular, Instituto de Patología Experimental, CONICET, Argentina, Salta, Argentina

M. E. TÖRÖK

University of Cambridge, Department of Medicine, Box 157 Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, United Kingdom

RALPH A. TRIPP

University of Georgia, Animal Health Research Center, 111 Carlton Street, Athens, GA 30602

ELIZABETH R. UNGER

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, 1600 Clifton Road, MS G41, Atlanta, GA 30333

ALEXANDRA VALSAMAKIS

Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 600 North Wolfe Street, Meyer B1-193, Baltimore, MD 21287

ALEX VAN BELKUM

bioMérieux SA, R&D Microbiology, 3 Route de Port Michaud, 38390 La Balme Les Grottes, France

BARBARA VAN DER POL

The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, 703 19th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35294

MARJAN VAN ESBROECK

Institute of Tropical Medicine, Clinical Sciences, Kronenburgstraat 43/3, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium

JAMES VERSALOVIC

Texas Children’s Hospital, Pathology, 1102 Bates Avenue, Houston, TX 77030

JACO J. VERWEIJ

St. Elisabeth Hospital, Laboratory of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Tilburg, Netherlands

DAVID WANG

Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Pathology & Immunology, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8230, Saint Louis, MO 63110

HUI WANG

Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, China, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100044, P.R. China

JING WANG

Intellectual Property Practice Group, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, One Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110

J. SCOTT WEESE

Dept of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G2W1, Canada

ALEXANDRA S. WHALE

Molecular and Cell Biology, LGC, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LY, United Kingdom

ANNE M. WHALEN

FIND, Chemin des Mines 9, CH-1211, Geneva, Switzerland

BARBARA M. WILLEY

Department of Microbiology, Room 1480, Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5

CARL T. WITTWER

University of Utah, Department of Pathology, University of Utah Medical School, Salt Lake City, UT 84132

DONNA M. WOLK

Geisinger Health System, Department of Laboratory Medicine, and Weis Center for Research, Danville, PA 17822-0131, and Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701

KRISTINE M. WYLIE

Washington University School of Medicine, Pediatrics, 660 S Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8116, Saint Louis, MO 63110

JOSEPH D. C. YAO

Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905

YAWEI ZHANG

Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, China 100044

 

PREFACE

In the 5 years since the 2011 edition of this book, the molecular diagnostics landscape has changed dramatically. In the 1990s, molecular diagnostics was the domain of only a few reference laboratories; it took almost 20 years for these techniques to make their way into about half of the CLIA high-complexity laboratories in the United States. The full potential of this technology was slow to be realized largely because the methods used by these laboratories were not capable of delivering on-demand results or being conducted at the point of care. Over the past year, with the advent of CLIA-waived molecular testing spurred on by the inexorable force of innovation, molecular diagnostics have become increasingly democratized to the extent that physician office laboratories and sexual health clinics are now performing molecular testing on the premises, often delivering results in minutes or a few hours.

Laboratory professionals may at times find themselves a bit bewildered in this rapidly evolving landscape. Adding to this, enter next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, as described in several chapters in this book (chapters 2, 3, 5, 6, 10–14, and 53). NGS-based analysis of microbial genomes and populations is in some ways similar to where PCR was in 1987: full of opportunities and challenges. For the first time, identification of the full range of pathogens—viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa—can be addressed by using the same core technology. Microbial population analysis can be carried out at unprecedented depth, opening up the field of metagenomics (chapters 10–14). Whole-genome analysis goes beyond organism identification to predict drug resistance and detect pathogenic determinants. As diagnosticians, it seems likely that as this field evolves, so will our job descriptions. Still, much progress remains to be made before NGS can move beyond its current status as a research tool. NGS systems need to become more automated and less expensive to operate. The analysis of complex data sets provided by these systems needs to be simplified; the interpretation of results cannot require a PhD in bioinformatics for delivery of routine results. However, as complex as it is now, NGS too will eventually become democratized by the integration of workflow automation, improvements in sequencing technology, and information technology (IT).

Speaking of which, IT itself is about to play an increasing role in how and to whom our results are delivered (section X). A rapid molecular result is only as good as the downstream action taken in the treatment and management of patients. As we speak, patients in London, along with providers, are getting “push notifications” of results from their sexual health tests, resulting in a dramatically shortened time to therapy. Cloud-based aggregation of molecular test data is providing snapshots of emerging pathogens and drug resistance in real time by collecting de-identified test data directly from testing platforms. From the respiratory cloud to the digital cloud, we are watching the emergence of a new generation of global surveillance capabilities which will be of enormous public health benefit. Rapid detection technologies are also likely to evolve in the direction of on-demand multiplexing for simultaneous detection of treatment-informing targets. The convergence of rapid molecular assays with improvements in IT to deliver actionable information to health care providers is becoming a reality.

In 2015, the White House announced a $20 million prize for innovative diagnostic tests that will lead to more precise antimicrobial therapeutic decisions. In addition, the United Kingdom has announced the Longitude Prize, a challenge with a £10 million award for developing a point-of-care diagnostic test that also will identify when antibiotics are needed and which one to use. Thus, it seems that the importance of molecular diagnostic testing is finally being appreciated at the highest levels, especially to address the global problem of antimicrobial resistance. Let’s not disappoint them.

David H. Persing, MD, PhD

Executive Vice President

Chief Medical and Technology Officer

Cepheid, Sunnyvale, California

Fred C. Tenover, PhD

Vice President, Scientific Affairs

Cepheid, Sunnyvale, California

 

section I

NOVEL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES