Health officials have decided to use a new technology to follow the outbreak of listeria linked to Blue Bell ice cream products. Earlier this week, Blue Bell Creameries, manufacturer of Blue Bell brand ice cream, announced that it will recall all its products as listeria was found in the company's frozen treats.

After the massive recall by the Texas-based company, a number of smaller recalls were announced as health officials have tracked the outbreak. The health officials found that the outbreak was linked to about 10 listeria illnesses, which include three deaths.

During the investigation, health officials used a technology called whole genome sequencing. The technology maps an organism's DNA. While the technology has been used in medical research, it has recently been used to track the outbreak.

Through the technology, federal and state officials found that the listeria outbreak was not just the recent event. The ice cream has been making people sick from last five years. The technology has given officials hope that in future if an outbreak occurs, they will be able to track it fast.

While talking about the technology, Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, "It is giving us a new power to investigate cold cases".

The first signal of listeria contamination in Blue Bell products came in the first month of January when the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control collected some samples from a distribution plant Blue Bell.

The samples were taken as part of a random sampling program. There was no reason to suspect that the product was contaminated. But, the South Carolina officials unexpectedly discovered that two of products had contained high amounts of listeria.

After that, the Texas Department of State Health Services discovered listeria in a number of product samples from the Texas plant where Blue Bell is headquartered.