Surveillance and Targeted Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens

Overview

Goodridge and his team developed innovative approaches to detecting and preventing foodborne and infectious diseases. Their research spans specific pathogens like Cronobacter sakazakii in infant formula to pioneering surveillance methods combining wastewater testing and social media monitoring. The innovative methods for surveillance and treatment have proven effective in early detection of disease outbreaks, offering valuable tools for public health response and prevention across multiple types of infectious diseases.

Application

Goodridge’s research has two key practical applications. First, his team developed effective synbiotic treatments to inhibit pathogens like C. sakazakii in infant formula. Second, they created an integrated surveillance system combining wastewater testing and social media monitoring that has been successfully implemented in real-world situations, including COVID-19 tracking and foodborne illness outbreaks. This surveillance system is already having significant impact in local public health monitoring, demonstrating its practical value for broader public health protection.

Challenge

Modern disease surveillance faces significant limitations due to its passive nature, requiring patients to seek medical attention before outbreaks can be detected. This delay in identification allows diseases to spread, whether they’re respiratory illnesses, foodborne pathogens, or other infectious diseases. Among these challenges, particularly concerning are foodborne pathogens that affect vulnerable populations. A prime example is Cronobacter sakazakii (C. sakazakii), a bacterial pathogen primarily transmitted through powdered infant formula that poses severe risks to infants. Infants, especially those under twelve months who are preterm or immunocompromised, are particularly vulnerable due to their underdeveloped immune systems and gut microbiota. C. sakazakii infection can lead to serious conditions. The challenge lies not only in detecting these threats early but also in developing effective preventive measures.

Did You Know?

Disease surveillance traditionally relies on passive systems that delay detection and response. Goodridge’s team demonstrated that combining wastewater surveillance with social media monitoring can detect outbreak signals up to one month before traditional methods, transforming how we track and respond to both foodborne and infectious diseases. This approach proved particularly valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent foodborne illness outbreaks, showing how innovative surveillance methods can modernize public health response.

Research

Dr. Lawrence Goodridge’s team addressed public health challenges through two complementary approaches. First, his team pioneered innovative surveillance methods combining wastewater testing and social media monitoring to detect disease outbreaks before they become widespread. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they established daily wastewater testing to track virus variants and developed Social Media Syndromic Surveillance to identify symptom patterns in specific regions. This integrated approach proved particularly valuable in tracking the 2023-2024 international salmonella outbreak linked to contaminated cantaloupes.

Alongside this broader surveillance work, Goodridge’s team conducted focused research on specific foodborne pathogens, particularly C. sakazakii. They explored crucial questions about the conditions enabling C. sakazakii persistence in infant formula and potential protective measures. Using their expertise in genomics, they simulated infant gastric conditions to examine how different gastrointestinal environments affect bacterial stress gene expression. The project investigated combinations of probiotics and prebiotics (synbiotics) to reduce C. sakazakii activity in formula and minimize infections in infants.

Scientist holds light blue petri dish up close.

Results

The team’s surveillance methods demonstrated remarkable success in early outbreak detection. Their wastewater surveillance and social media monitoring system consistently detected outbreak signals up to one month before traditional methods, as validated during both the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023-2024 cantaloupe-related salmonella outbreak.

In their targeted research on C. sakazakii, the team made significant discoveries about pathogen-host relationships. Using a gastrointestinal simulator, they found that C. sakazakii thrives in newborns’ digestive environments due to low gastric acidity and long digestion times. Through extensive testing of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics (a combination of both), they developed an effective synbiotic treatment consisting of six lactic acid bacteria strains and Vivinal GOS that could inhibit C. sakazakii growth in both formula and the infant gastrointestinal tract. These findings contribute to the growing field of gut microbiota-based treatments for pathogen control.

Impact

Goodridge’s surveillance methodology has broader applications beyond foodborne pathogens, extending to various infectious diseases including respiratory viruses. As co-leader of the $15 million INSPIRE initiative announced in 2024, he continues to advance disease surveillance at Canada-U.S. border crossings. His ongoing collaboration with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health maintains local wastewater surveillance efforts, demonstrating the practical implementation of his research findings. These surveillance tools represent a significant modernization of public health emergency response capabilities, with potential economic benefits through earlier intervention and outbreak prevention.

At the same time, his team’s work on C. sakazakii provides critical solutions for a persistent food safety challenge. Due to the lack of global standards for developing infant formula and the favorable conditions it provides for this harmful bacteria, C. sakazakii will likely continue to persist and pose a risk to infant health. However, the team’s findings on synbiotic treatments offer practical applications for safer infant formula production and post-infection treatment. As climate change and globalization continue to affect pathogen spread and disease patterns, these combined approaches – broad surveillance and targeted intervention – provide essential tools for protecting public health.

Learn More

Bhandare, S., Lawal, O. U., Colavecchio, A., Cadieux, B., Zahirovich-Jovich, Y., Zhong, Z., Tompkins, E., Amitrano, M., Kukavica-Ibrulj, I., Boyle, B., Wang, S., Levesque, R. C., Delaquis, P., Danyluk, M., & Goodridge, L. (2024). Genomic and Phenotypic Analysis of Salmonella enterica Bacteriophages Identifies Two Novel Phage Species. Microorganisms (Basel), 12(4), 695-. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040695

Botschner, W., Davidson, H., Lawal, O. U., Parreira, V. R., Goodridge, L., & Putonti, C. (2023). Draft genome sequences of two Proteus mirabilis isolates recovered from a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Ontario, Canada. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 12(10), e0055923–e0055923. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00559-23

Bryan, N., Anderson, R., Lawal, O. U., Parreira, V. R., Goodridge, L., & Maresca, J. A. (2023). Draft Genome Sequence of Exiguobacterium sp. Strain N5, Isolated from a Recreational Freshwater Kettle Lake in Ontario. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 12(4), e0126122–e0126122. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01261-22

Bryan, N., Anderson, R., Lawal, O. U., Parreira, V. R., Goodridge, L., & Maresca, J. A. (2023). Draft Genome Sequence of Bacillus anthracis N1, Isolated from a Recreational Freshwater Kettle Lake in Ontario, Canada. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 12(4), e0126222–e0126222. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01262-22

Chettleburgh, C., Ma, S. X., Swinwood-Sky, M., McDougall, H., Kireina, D., Taggar, G., McBean, E., Parreira, V., Goodridge, L., & Habash, M. (2023). Evaluation of four human-associated fecal biomarkers in wastewater in Southern Ontario. The Science of the Total Environment, 904, 166542–166542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166542

Gao, R., Duceppe, M.-O., Chattaway, M. A., Goodridge, L., & Ogunremi, D. (2023). Application of prophage sequence analysis to investigate a disease outbreak involving Salmonella Adjame, a rare serovar and implications for the population structure. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14, 1086198–1086198. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1086198

Gauthier, J., Mohammadi, S., Huffman, J., Lawal, O. U., Kukavica-Ibrulj, I., Potvin, M., Goodridge, L., Levesque, R. C., & Stajich, J. E. (2023). Complete genome sequences of agricultural azole-resistant Penicillium rubens encoding CYP51A and ERG11 paralogues. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 12(10), e0018823–e0018823. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00188-23

Karama, M., Lawal, O. U., Parreira, V. R., Soni, M., Chen, Y., Cenci-Goga, B. T., Grispoldi, L., Greyling, J., Goodridge, L., & Hudson, A. O. (2024). Draft genome sequences of two Salmonella Uzaramo isolates from poultry in South Africa. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 13(1), e0102623–e0102623. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01026-23

Ke, A., Parreira, V. R., Farber, J. M., & Goodridge, L. (2022a). Inhibition of Cronobacter sakazakii in an infant simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem using a potential synbiotic. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, 947624. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.947624

Ke, A., Parreira, V. R., Farber, J. M., & Goodridge, L. (2022b). Selection of a Potential Synbiotic against Cronobacter sakazakii. Journal of Food Protection, 85(9), 1240–1248. https://doi.org/10.4315/JFP-22-048

Ke, A., Parreira, V. R., Goodridge, L., & Farber, J. M. (2021). Current and Future Perspectives on the Role of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics in Controlling Pathogenic Cronobacter Spp. In Infants. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, 755083. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.755083

Kireina, D., Parreira, V. R., Goodridge, L., & Farber, J. M. (2024). Survival and Expression of rpoS and grxB of Cronobacter sakazakii in Powdered Infant Formula Under Simulated Gastric Conditions of Newborns. Journal of Food Protection, 87(5), 100269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2024.100269

Lawal, O. U., Bryan, N., Soni, M., Chen, Y., Precious, M., Parreira, V. R., & Goodridge, L. (2024). Whole genome sequence of Vibrio cholerae NB-183 isolated from freshwater in Ontario, Canada harbors a unique gene repertoire. BMC Genetics, 25(1), 18–18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-024-01204-2

Lawal, O. U., Bryan, N., Parreira, V. R., Anderson, R., Chen, Y., Precious, M., Goodridge, L., & Iwanowicz, L. R. (2024). Phylogenomics of novel clones of Aeromonas veronii recovered from a freshwater lake reveals unique biosynthetic gene clusters. Microbiology Spectrum, 12(12), e0117124-. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01171-24

Lawal, O. U., & Goodridge, L. (2024). TSPDB: a curated resource of tailspike proteins with potential applications in phage research. Frontiers in Big Data, 7, 1437580-. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdata.2024.1437580

Moyne, A., Lawal, O. U., Gauthier, J., Kukavica-Ibrulj, I., Potvin, M., Goodridge, L., Levesque, R. C., Harris, L. J., & Karunasagar, I. (2023). Genetic diversity of Salmonella enterica isolated over 13 years from raw California almonds and from an almond orchard. PloS One, 18(9), e0291109–e0291109. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291109

Naganathan, T., O’Connor, A., Sargeant, J. M., Shapiro, K., Totton, S., Winder, C., & Greer, A. L. (2022). The prevalence of Cyclospora cayetanensis in water: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Epidemiology & Infection, 150, 1-. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268821002521

Naganathan, T. (2021). Investigating the global prevalence of Cyclospora cayetanensis in water and estimating the risk of cyclosporiasis from imported raspberries in Canada. University of Guelph.

Simon, C. (2022). Tracking Changes in a Simulated Human Gastrointestinal Environment following the Introduction of High and Low Virulence Salmonella enterica isolates. University of Guelph.

Roma, A., Goodridge, L. D., & Spagnuolo, P. A. (2023). Reductive carboxylation of glutamine as a potential target in acute myeloid leukemia. Oncotarget, 14(1), 947–948. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28474

Thakali, O., Mercier, É., Eid, W., Wellman, M., Brasset-Gorny, J., Overton, A. K., Knapp, J. J., Manuel, D., Charles, T. C., Goodridge, L., Arts, E. J., Poon, A. F. Y., Brown, R. S., Graber, T. E., Delatolla, R., & DeGroot, C. T. (2024). Real-time evaluation of signal accuracy in wastewater surveillance of pathogens with high rates of mutation. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 3728–3728. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-54319-y

Principal Investigator

Collaborators

Dr. Jeff Farber, Dr. Rozita Dara, Dr. Amy Greer, Dr. Fozia Rizvi, Dr. Yanhong Chen, Dr. Gurleen Taggar, Dr. Valeria Parreira, Dr. Melinda Precious, Dr. Mitra Soni, Dr. Rebecca Anderson, Dr. Linkang Zhang, Dr. Kenton Whyte, Dr. Chrystal Landgraff, Dr. Roger Lévesque

Students and Post-doctoral fellows

Anxin Zhao, Charlie Chettleburgh, Bridget Xie, Sarah Donald, Hailey Davidson, Yuxin Hu, Dharamdeo Singh, Lara Warrnier, Wesley Wilson, Yutong Wang, Ceylon Simon, Devita Kireina, Thivya Naganthan, Noah Brian, Kazemir Gudelis, Larissa Kouroukis, William Botschner, Dr. Opeyemi Lawal, Dr. Amber Fedynak, Dr. Cristina Chiappe

Partners

Public Health Agency of Canada, University of Laval

Research funding for Food from Thought is provided in part by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund

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Email: fft@uoguelph.ca

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