ABSTRACT
The issue of subtyping pathogens to explore reservoirs, sources and transmission routes does merit a short summary. Advances in whole genome sequencing will probably considerably influence the way that epidemiologic analyses are performed. The full potential of genetic subtyping awaits careful studies in which excellent epidemiological and laboratory work are combined. The present leap are the different methods for 'genetic fingerprinting' which allow to identify individual strains of bacteria or viruses by looking at specific sequences in their genomes — or at the entire genome. The genetic analysis indicated that the Guinean strain split into two in April and that both these were subsequently brought into Sierra Leone, possibly by the attendees of a funeral in Guinea. Subtyping of pathogens is an important tool for public health which has been improved and refined for over a century. Many times subtyping may be of limited clinical value, but the determination of antimicrobial resistance is a good counterexample.
