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Tracing Melioidosis Back to the Source: Using Whole-Genome Sequencing To Investigate an Outbreak Originating from a Contaminated Domestic Water Supply

Overview of attention for article published in Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 2015
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  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (75th percentile)
  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (69th percentile)

Mentioned by

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3 X users
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1 Wikipedia page

Citations

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32 Dimensions

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26 Mendeley
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Title
Tracing Melioidosis Back to the Source: Using Whole-Genome Sequencing To Investigate an Outbreak Originating from a Contaminated Domestic Water Supply
Published in
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 2015
DOI 10.1128/jcm.03453-14
Pubmed ID
Authors

Evan McRobb, Derek S. Sarovich, Erin P. Price, Mirjam Kaestli, Mark Mayo, Paul Keim, Bart J. Currie

Abstract

Melioidosis, a disease of public health importance in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, is caused by the Gram-negative soil bacillus Burkholderia pseudomallei. Melioidosis is typically acquired through environmental exposure and case clusters are rare, even in endemic regions. B. pseudomallei is classed as a Tier 1 Select Agent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; from a biodefense perspective, source attribution is vital in an outbreak scenario to rule out a deliberate release. Two cases of melioidosis at a residence in rural northern Australia, within a three-month period, prompted an investigation to determine the source of exposure. B. pseudomallei isolates from the property's groundwater supply matched the multilocus sequence type of the clinical isolates. Whole-genome sequencing confirmed the water supply as the probable source of infection in both cases, with the clinical isolates differing from the likely infecting environmental strain by just one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) each. For the first time, we report phylogenetic analysis of genome-wide insertion/deletion (indel) data, an approach conventionally viewed as problematic due to high mutation rates and homoplasy. Our whole-genome indel analysis was concordant with the SNP phylogeny, and these two combined datasets provided greater resolution and a better fit with our epidemiological chronology of events. Collectively, this investigation represents a highly accurate account of source attribution in a melioidosis outbreak, and gives further insight into a frequently overlooked reservoir of B. pseudomallei. Our methods and findings have important implications for outbreak source tracing of this bacterium and other highly recombinogenic pathogens.

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X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 26 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 26 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 7 27%
Researcher 4 15%
Student > Ph. D. Student 3 12%
Student > Bachelor 2 8%
Student > Doctoral Student 2 8%
Other 2 8%
Unknown 6 23%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4 15%
Medicine and Dentistry 4 15%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 3 12%
Immunology and Microbiology 3 12%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 2 8%
Other 3 12%
Unknown 7 27%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 12 September 2022.
All research outputs
#6,929,769
of 25,373,627 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Clinical Microbiology
#5,435
of 14,317 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#87,031
of 361,121 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Clinical Microbiology
#39
of 129 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,373,627 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 72nd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 14,317 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.9. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 61% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 361,121 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 75% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 129 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 69% of its contemporaries.