Prospects of pathogen whole-genome sequencing in outbreak tracing and antimicrobial resistance surveillance of spinal infections.

Spinal infections are a serious category of deep-seated infectious diseases that pose significant threats to human health. They are caused by a broad and complex spectrum of pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, and rare opportunistic organisms. Traditional diagnostic methods often face limitations in timeliness, accuracy, and source-tracing capability. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS), with its high resolution and throughput, provides comprehensive genetic information from pathogens, opening new avenues for precise diagnosis, outbreak tracing, and antimicrobial resistance monitoring and genomic epidemiology research in spinal infections., and enabling reliable identification of rare and fastidious pathogens that are difficult to characterize by conventional assays. This review systematically summarizes current applications of WGS in pathogen identification, clonal transmission inference, resistance gene and virulence factor analysis, and outbreak investigation. It further discusses the technical advantages, application challenges, and future development directions of WGS in outbreak tracing and resistance surveillance. Ultimately, this review aims to offer novel insights and a theoretical foundation for the precise prevention, control, and clinical management of spinal infections.