Article posted: 12/31/2012 5:00 AM

New tests could hamper food outbreak detection

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It's about to get faster and easier to diagnose food poisoning from such sources as this salmonella bacteria in a petri dish. But that progress for individual patients will come with a downside.

Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Pr

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The Sunland Inc. peanut butter and nut processing plant in eastern New Mexico has been shuttered since late September due to a salmonella outbreak that sickened dozens.

Associated Press

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It's about to get faster and easier to diagnose food poisoning, but that progress for individual patients comes with a downside: It could hurt the nation's ability to spot and solve dangerous utbreaks. Next-generation tests that promise to shave a few days off the time needed to tell whether E. coli, salmonella or other foodborne bacteria caused a patient's illness could reach medical laboratories as early as next year. The problem: These new tests can't detect crucial differences between different subtypes of bacteria, as current tests can.