By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Researchers have used DNA
sequencing for the first time to identify, analyze and put a
halt to an infectious disease outbreak in a hospital. The
success of the technique, which used fast genome sequencing
technology to control an outbreak of the MRSA superbug on a baby
ward, suggests it could be used to control hospital bugs,
salmonella and E.coli infections and diseases like tuberculosis,
scientists said. "What we have glimpsed through this pioneering
study is a future in which new sequencing methods will help us
to identify, manage and stop hospital outbreaks," said Nick
Brown, an infection control doctor at Addenbrooke's Hospital
Cambridge, who co-led the study and presented the findings at a
briefing. MRSA, or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus,
is a drug-resistant bacterial infection, or superbug, and a
serious public health problem. When outbreaks occur in hospitals
it can lead to the closure of whole wards with many people
infected. The bug kills an estimated