“PulseNet connects cases of foodborne illness to potential outbreaks. PulseNet is a national laboratory network  made up of 87 laboratories−at least one in each state. PulseNet  connects foodborne illness cases together to detect and define outbreaks using DNA “fingerprinting” of the bacteria making people sick  using a standardized process called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Every state has at least one public health laboratory that can match up bacteria from sick people in many different locations using PulseNet’s DNA fingerprinting technique and database. PulseNet tracks what is being reported to CDC today compared to what was reported in the past to look for changes. This means that PulseNet keeps a cumulative database representing nearly half a million isolates of bacteria from food, the environment, and human foodborne illness.”