10.26091/ESRNZ.9947351.v1 Deborah A. Williamson Deborah A. Williamson Sarah Louise Baines Sarah Louise Baines Glen P. Carter Glen P. Carter Anders Goncalves da Silva Anders Goncalves da Silva Xiaoyun Ren Xiaoyun Ren Jill Sherwood Jill Sherwood Muriel Dufour Muriel Dufour Mark B. Schultz Mark B. Schultz Nigel P. French Nigel P. French Torsten Seemann Torsten Seemann Timothy P. Stinear Timothy P. Stinear Benjamin P. Howden Benjamin P. Howden Genomic insights into a sustained national outbreak of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Institute of Environmental Science and Research 2019 Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Outbreak of yersiniosis zoonosis Foodborne Disease genomics epidemiology New Zealand Genome sequencing Microbial Genetics Microbiology 2019-10-30 03:19:35 Journal contribution https://research.esr.cri.nz/articles/journal_contribution/Genomic_insights_into_a_sustained_national_outbreak_of_Yersinia_pseudotuberculosis/9947351 In 2014, a sustained outbreak of yersiniosis due to Yersinia pseudotuberculosis occurred across all major cities in New Zealand (NZ), with a total of 220 laboratory-confirmed cases, representing one of the largest ever reported outbreaks of Y. pseudotuberculosis. Here, we performed whole genome sequencing of outbreak-associated isolates to produce the largest population analysis to date of Y. pseudotuberculosis, giving us unprecedented capacity to understand the emergence and evolution of the outbreak clone. Multivariate analysis incorporating our genomic and clinical epidemiological data strongly suggested a single point-source contamination of the food chain, with subsequent nationwide distribution of contaminated produce. We additionally uncovered significant diversity in key determinants of virulence, which we speculate may help explain the high morbidity linked to this outbreak.