The Clinical Microbiology Laboratory is a full-service laboratory offering diagnostic Bacteriology, Mycology, Parasitology, Virology, and Immunology. The main purpose of this laboratory is to assist in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. This starts with the patient entering the healthcare system and presenting with certain signs and symptoms consistent with an infectious disease. The patient’s physician then orders specific tests to clarify the presence of an infectious disease. These diseases can include those caused by bacteria; those caused by viruses; those caused by fungi or those caused by parasites. The laboratory receives specimens from in-patients, out-patient clinics, as well as from several outreach sites. The Microbiology Laboratory is composed of several sections including Bacteriology, Virology, Mycology, Parasitology and Immunology.

The Bacteriology Section:

• Isolates and identifies clinically significant microorganisms from clinical specimens and performs antimicrobial susceptibility testing on these bacterial pathogens.
• Performs blood cultures using the BACT/ALERT system, which provides continuous monitoring of blood cultures for the entire 7-day incubation period.
• Performs Gram staining and ZN staining for morphological identification of several bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• Also performs isolation and characterization of clinically significant anaerobic bacteria.

The Mycology Section

• Performs Microscopic identification of fungus with KOH preparation.

The Parasitology Section

• Provides services for the diagnosis of various parasitic infections.
• Specimens submitted for parasitology include stool specimens for the detection of pathogenic amoebae, and flagellates, and for detection/identification of the ova belonging to various Nematode (roundworms), Cestode (tapeworms), and Trematode (flukes) species.
• Blood specimens are also submitted for the diagnosis and species identification of malarial parasites

The Virology Section:

• Provides services to aid in the diagnosis of viral infections.
• Performs "Real-Time" molecular detection assays (R-T PCR) for Covid-19 and other virus and bacteria.

The Immunoserology Section:

• Performs a wide verities immunological tests to detect different bacterial/viral markers, antigens and antibodies.