State health labs in the US have received government funding to purchase sequencers from companies such as Illumina and Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Life Technologies. Congress aims to equip public health labs in all states with the ability to conduct whole genome sequencing for the detection and study of drug-resistant bacteria by 2018. Each year, antibiotic-resistant bacteria cause two million illnesses and approximately 23,000 deaths throughout the US. According to a February UK government report, the lack of adequate resources to detect and treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria will lead to an extra 10 million deaths per year, as well as a $100 trillion burden on the global economy. Sequencing-based computer analysis of bacterial genomes allows scientists to detect pathogens that are still emerging, recognize outbreaks, and pinpoint their origins and cause of transmissions.

Source: Bloomberg