Phylogenetics for those who never had time to ask.

| Canadian Family Physician • Le Médecin de famille canadien 639 Case scenario Your spouse (also an FP) is ensconced in the living room doing some journal reading when you hear her say, “Wow. I have always wondered what that meant.” You ask her what she is talking about. “Phylogenetics. It is high-tech detective work. It is the analysis of the small genetic changes that viruses and bacteria undergo in order to map out where they come from.” “Really?” you say, not quite understanding how that would work. “What is it used for?” “Well this article describes how it was used to identify the source of measles cases in Canada last year. It is like paternity testing—if you suspect where the measles cases might be coming from, you can do genetic testing to either confirm or exclude that possibility.” You sit down with her to have a look. CCDR Highlights