Enteric Diseases Laboratory Branch

Organisms that cause enteric diseases represent a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and throughout the world.  The Enteric Diseases Laboratory Branch (EDLB) contributes to the prevention and control of foodborne and diarrheal diseases nationally and internationally by conducting wide range laboratory-based surveillance, outbreak response and reference activities.  

EDLB is committed to maintain global leadership in the laboratory sciences related to high priority agents of foodborne and diarrheal diseases, such as those responsible for salmonellosis, shigellosis, campylobacteriosis, Shigatoxin-producing E. coli disease, cholera, and botulism. Laboratories in EDLB are tasked with the development and implementation of state-of-the-art laboratory methods to aid in the detection and investigation of foodborne and diarrheal disease outbreaks.

We are continually working toward improving our understanding of enteric pathogens that pose risks to public health through applied research and laboratory based surveillance. We are also actively engaged in the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance surveillance trends of enteric pathogens, which along with applied research studies provides the opportunity to improve understanding of the ecology of resistance and the farm-to-fork transmission of resistant isolates between animals and humans. We coordinate and collaborate with public health partners to perform regional, national and international surveillance studies of foodborne and diarrheal disease including microbial source tracking and attribution of foodborne illnesses to their specific food sources.