How DNA detectives are helping solve the rise of superbug

DNA sequencing could be the key to quickly and cheaply identifying pathogen strains, as well as tracking routes of transmission and monitoring mutations

This piece was first published on The Conversation

It is now 12 years since the first set of genetic instructions in a human was sequenced. Many of our hopes for using knowledge about the human genome to better fight the likes of heart disease and cancer still lie years and decades in the future, but DNA sequencing in healthcare is not all about tomorrow. It is already revolutionising clinical microbiology. Most exciting of all, it is giving us an important tool in our battle with drug-resistant strains of bacteria. These strains are one of the major growing threats to human health, and have just prompted new guidelines in the UK on how GPs should prescribe antibiotics.