Event Details

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is the leading cause of death by an infectious disease globally with an estimated 10.7 million new cases and 1.23 million deaths in 2024. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data offers valuable insights in TB transmission pattern and drug resistance with high resolution. This PHO Microbiology Rounds will present a genomic epidemiological overview of TB in Ontario using WGS data. It will begin with a brief overview of TB epidemiology in Canada and Ontario followed by a summary of the TB trends in Ontario during the 2023–2025 period. The session will also provide an overview of an MTB genomic analysis pipeline developed for TB genomic surveillance.

Intended Audience: Microbiologists, laboratory scientists, physicians, public health professionals.

By the end of this event, participants will be able to:

• Describe the role of genomic epidemiology in TB surveillance.
• Interpret TB genomic epidemiology trends in Ontario.
• Explain the genomic analysis pipeline for MTB WGS data and its use in public health surveillance of MTB.

Dr. Xin Wei, PhD,  is a computational biologist at Public Health Ontario (PHO). She completed her PhD in Bioinformatics, focusing on bacterial genomic context analysis in pathogenic bacteria. During her postdoctoral training at PHO, she developed research pipelines for large-scale tuberculosis genome analysis using Ontario clinical samples. Her current work integrates tuberculosis genomic data analysis to support public health surveillance.

The opinions expressed by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies or views of Public Health Ontario, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by Public Health Ontario.

Public Health Ontario Rounds are a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).

Other colleges, including the College of Family Physicians of Canada, Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors, may accept RCPSC accredited events on a per-hour basis. Please contact your relevant college should you have any questions.

In order to receive written documentation for Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits, please check "Yes" beside the question "Do you require CME credits?" on the registration form.

For more information or for a record of registration for other Continuing Education purposes, please contact capacitybuilding@oahpp.ca.

Public Health Ontario is committed to complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact 647-260-7100 or capacitybuilding@oahpp.ca.