
Diagnostic Technologies for Pathogen Identification
Microbiological Culture, or microbial culture, is a method of multiplying microbial organisms by letting them reproduce in predetermined culture medium under controlled laboratory conditions.
-
200 year old technology
-
Specimen stable for only a few hours at room temperature
-
Results in 2-4 weeks
-
60% accuracy
-
Capable of identifying less than 1% of the known human pathogens
-
Pathologist required for interpretation
Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction or RT-PCR is a laboratory technique of molecular biology based on the polymerase chain reaction. It monitors the amplification of a targeted DNA molecule.
-
Modern technology developed in the 1990s
-
Not easily affected by time and temperature
-
Results within 48 hours
-
99% accuracy, but the laboratory needs to know which pathogens to identify (small panels only)
-
Identifies bacterial resistant genes
-
Pathologist interpretation not required