An original study published on 28 November 2025 in Nature Communications examined 3,417 samples collected between 2019 and 2023 in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Tanzania.
The researchers combined bacterial culture, whole-genome sequencing and metagenomics, which analyses DNA from a mixture of microorganisms. Their analyses included 380 high-quality bacterial genomes and 139 metagenomic samples.
Genetically similar bacteria were found in distinct sources. These observations support surveillance linking humans, animals, food, water and the environment: the One Health approach.
However, these similarities do not prove direct transmission. The two methods mainly involved separate sample sets; findings from four countries do not describe the situation in Morocco.
For health vigilance, the practical avenue is to target sampling more effectively and combine laboratory and field data. Genomics complements epidemiological investigation; its operational benefits still need evaluation in each setting.