Carissa Pursell, Microbiologist III
Kansas Health and Environmental Laboratories
Telephone Number: 785-296-3278

PFGE is used to create a DNA "fingerprint" to detect and track bacterial strains associated with foodborne outbreaks at the state and national levels. When an E. coli 0157:H7, Shigella, or Salmonella is identified, it is "fingerprinted" by PFGE and its pattern is compared to other patterns from that same serotype throughout the state, and nation. Any pattern matches within a similar time frame are brought to the attention of the State Epidemiologist and the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA.

Additional information on PFGE can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/pulsenet/.

Salmonella fingerprint patterns.
Each vertical lane represents a different Salmonella strain.