????????????????????????????????????????????????????Division of Medical Microbiolog???????y
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The Division of Medical Microbiology and Immunology is a partnership with the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) (www.nhls.ac.za). Staff within the division include pathologists, medical scientists, registrars (MMed students), intern scientists, technologists, technicians and support staff. We also have several postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students (PhD, MSc, BSc Hons). Collectively we are responsible for offering a diagnostic pathology service, as well as teaching, training and research.
The Division is housed within the NHLS laboratories, located on the 9th floor of Tygerberg Hospital. We also make use of research laboratory facilities in the Division of Medical Virology, the Pathology Research Facility (PRF) within the FMHS, and offices and meeting spaces within the BioMedical Research Institute (BMRI).
The diagnostic pathology service falls under the auspices of the SANAS-accredited NHLS Medical Microbiology and Immunology laboratories at Tygerberg Hospital and provide essential diagnostic services to the Western Cape.
The Division offers a wide range of tests, from traditional methods to advanced molecular techniques, supporting effective patient care and infection control. Bacterial identification and susceptibility testing are core services, using culture and automated systems for rapid, accurate results. Susceptibility testing is critical for guiding antibiotic therapy and combating antimicrobial resistance. Beyond bacteria, the laboratory identifies parasites and fungi using microscopy, culture, and infectious serology.
Molecular diagnostics, including PCR and other advanced platforms, provide enhanced sensitivity and specificity for pathogen detection, especially in critical infections like meningitis, endocarditis and sepsis. Molecular tools are also vital for outbreak detection and investigation, enabling rapid identification of causative agents and effective infection prevention and control (IPC) measures
The division, through the pathologists and registrars, actively participates in antibiotic stewardship, advising clinicians both at Tygerberg and within the Western Cape on optimal antibiotic use through ward rounds, consultations, and resistance profile interpretation. We collaborate closely with IPC services, providing data to inform control strategies. We have a close working relationship with the adult and paediatric infectious disease services at Tygerberg Hospital /Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 and regularly collaborate and co-ordinate around individual patient management as well as broader strategic activities.
The Division's Immunology Section has expertise in the investigation of inborn errors of immunity / primary immunodeficiencies, and serves as a national centre for investigation of these diseases in collaboration with the South African Primary Immunodeficiency Registry and the Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases Genetics Network (PIDDGEN). We perform serological testing for the diagnosis of infectious diseases, including syphilis, echinococcosis, toxoplasmosis and others. We are a referral centre for the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases and offer advice on appropriate testing and interpretation of results. We are involved in a number of research initiatives including chronic inflammation in people living with HIV (PLWH) and the role of the immune system in HIV associated malignancies.
