Nicholas Thomson and colleagues report whole-genome sequencing of 132 globally distributed isolates of Shigella sonnei, a cause of human dysentery. Their phylogeographic analyses suggest that the current S. sonnei population is under 500 years old, and the authors are able to trace several distinct lineages that have spread out of Europe to other continents over the last few decades.
- Kathryn E Holt
- Stephen Baker
- Nicholas R Thomson
