PathogenTracker is an innovative WWW-based tool for information exchange on bacterial subtypes and strains and for studies on bacterial biodiversity and strain diversity with a focus on foodborne pathogens. This database has been developed by the Cornell Food Safety Laboratory. For more information and to use the database visit http://www.pathogentracker.net.
As a companion to the PathogenTracker database, an online "PathogenTracker" computer game is also available at http://game.pathogentracker.net.
The Pathogen Tracker Game was created as a fun challenge for anyone interested in learning more about the spread of foodborne illnesses and how online databases can help track down the source of the organisms that cause them.
The game centers around Listeria monocytogenes, a potentially deadly cause of “food poisoning,” especially in pregnant women. Listeria was the featured organism for the initial prototype of the Pathogen Tracker bioinformatics system developed at the Laboratory of Food Microbiology & Pathogenesis of Foodborne Diseases directed by Dr. Martin Wiedmann.