JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Identification of the bacterium responsible for an outbreak can aid in disease management. However, traditional culture-based diagnosis can be difficult, particularly if no specific diagnostic test is available for an outbreak strain. ⋯ These results suggest the potential of metagenomics as a culture-independent approach for the identification of bacterial pathogens during an outbreak of diarrheal disease. Challenges include improving diagnostic sensitivity, speeding up and simplifying workflows, and reducing costs.