The recent meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America featured a study from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit assessing a new strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The strain, called USA600, is associated with poorer outcomes than other strains of MRSA and is associated with vancomycin resistance—the drug ...

3M, St. Paul, MN announced today the introduction of the 3M Rapid Detection RSV Test. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infects the lungs and breathing passages and is a common cause of bronchitis and pneumonia in children under 1 year. The Rapid Detection RSV Test is designed to detect the presence of RSV F-protein antigens in ...

It never ceases to amaze me how different each day in the lab can be...  I was able to perform another ''first'' today.  Our Microbiology department is responsible for obtaining nasopharyngeal swabs in the outpatient testing area, on occasions when the usual staff is unavailable to do them.  I had seen them done, read the procedure, ...

 It took me a while to figure out just what I am passionate about. I was sitting in on the presentations at the GMABB meeting in Memphis, and I realized my passion. My passion is becoming a medical laboratory scientist,  so that I can help people. I have a blog I started with ADVANCE to let people know about the ...

This press release from the National Institutes of Health clarifies that while the current strain of H1N1 will predominate in the upcoming influenza season, there doesn’t seem to be biological pressure for the virus to re-combine with other circulating viruses. Some scientists have speculated such reassortant viruses would be more virulent or ...

Ask around any business, lab or otherwise, I imagine you’ll find that most places are divided when it comes to Lean practices. There are those that go into protective mode and are worried about losing their jobs. There are also those who welcome the chance to improve how things are done and are hoping to make their days run smoother. My ...

Here's a great article from The New York Times featuring the lab and H1N1 testing. The story says rapid tests for H1N1 fail to properly detect infections more than half the time. Have you been finding this is true for your laboratory?

The first push for accreditation of Africa's medical laboratories was recently launched by government health officials from 13 African countries, starting a process the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. government believe will strengthen health systems and lead to better patient care. Only a few of Africa's labs are currently ...

A new laboratory test, urine neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL), will help predict if patients will develop acute kidney injury (AKI), a study in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) reported. Another study in JASN also indicated that urine NGAL may help diagnosing HIV-related kidney disease affecting African ...

As I've mentioned, I work in the microbiology department. As of now, I've been trained and am on my own reading urine, stool and vaginal cultures; all of our rapid tests, ANAs, O&Ps, and set up of all cultures. In the next few weeks, I'll be learning TB Golds and reading respiratory cultures. The wound cultures and anaerobes won't come until ...