Clinical Microbiology Clinical is the study of microorganisms that cause human disease, commonly known as pathogens. Microbiologists who work in clinical settings work to diagnose and characterize these pathogens to help physicians properly treat patients. The main goals of clinical are to identify the specific microbe causing an infection, determine how much of the microbe is present, and test whether it is susceptible to different antibiotics. This information guides clinicians in selecting the most appropriate and targeted treatment option. Bacterial Identification and Susceptibility Testing One of the most important functions of the Clinical Microbiology lab is identifying the bacterium causing a patient's infection. Samples from sites of infection, such as blood, urine, wounds, or respiratory specimens are examined microscopically and cultured. Culturing allows any bacteria present to multiply into visible colonies on culture plates or in broth. Biochemical tests, immunological assays, and mass spectrometry are then used to definitively identify the species of bacteria grown. Once the bacterium is identified, susceptibility testing determines which antibiotics the bacterium is sensitive or resistant to. Disk diffusion and microdilution methods involve exposing the bacterial colony to antibiotic-impregnated paper disks or increasing concentrations of antibiotics in liquid culture medium. Clear zones of inhibition or lack of growth at minimum inhibitory concentrations indicates the antibiotics the bacterium is susceptible to. This antimicrobial susceptibility testing profile guides clinicians in choosing the most suitable antibiotic for treatment. Viral Identification Many viral infections also require diagnosis in microbiology labs. Samples are often tested directly for evidence of specific viral nucleic acids or proteins through techniques like immunofluorescence, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or viral culture. PCR is commonly used due to its speed, sensitivity, and ability to detect viruses that don't easily grow in culture. Real-time PCR techniques can also quantify the amount of virus present. Results rapidly provide clinicians information to consider antiviral treatment or implement infection control measures for highly contagious viruses. Fungal Diagnosis and Antifungal Susceptibility Opportunistic fungal infections have grown in recent decades due to increased antimicrobial and immunosuppressive therapy use. Clinical labs identify medically relevant yeasts and molds seen in clinical specimens through macroscopic and microscopic morphology evaluation of fungal cultures. Molecular techniques like PCR of conserved fungal regions are also used. Identifying the fungal genus and species informs clinicians on antifungal drug choices for treatment. Similar to bacterial testing, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods determine an isolate's susceptibility profile to antifungal medications. This guides clinicians in optimizing antifungal therapy given variability in intrinsic and acquired resistance among fungal pathogens. Broth microdilution is commonly used to accurately classify fungal clinical isolates as susceptible, susceptible dose-dependent, or resistant to antifungal drugs like azoles and echinocandins. Parasitic Diagnosis Parasitic diseases emerge as public health concerns both domestically and globally as increased international travel and trade introduce new pathogens. Sample examination under light microscopy reveals protozoan parasites including those that cause malaria, toxoplasmosis, and cryptosporidiosis. Stool examinations detect helminth eggs, larvae, or protozoal cysts from intestinal parasites like Giardia. Serological tests aid diagnosis of infections caused by Entamoeba histolytica or Toxoplasma gondii when direct visualization is inconclusive. These diagnostic results guide physicians in treatment selection and informing public health authorities for preventing disease spread. Clinical Microbiology in Infection Prevention Clinical also supports hospitals and clinicians by providing antibiograms summarizing local bacterial susceptibility patterns. This guides empiric antibiotic therapy when specific culture results are pending. Microbiology labs also investigate hospital-acquired infection outbreaks through molecular typing of isolated pathogens. Identifying clusters helps implement infection control measures halting outbreak spread. Antimicrobial stewardship programs work with clinical to promote the appropriate use of antibiotics and limit development of multi-drug resistant infections. Clinicians, pharmacists, and microbiologists collaborate through these programs for optimizing patient outcomes. clinical is essential for diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases through identification and susceptibility profiling of a broad range of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. The field continues advancing techniques towards even more rapid and comprehensive pathogen detection while supporting antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. Working closely with clinicians, clinical microbiologists effectively apply laboratory findings towards improving patient care and public health outcomes.
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According to the new market research report Clinical Microbiology Testing Market is estimated to be USD 3.9 billion in 2020 and projected to reach USD 5.3 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 6.5%.Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=219135367The increasing prevalence of infectious diseases and growing outbreak of epidemics (such as COVID-19), technological advancements, and increased funding and public-private investments are the key factors driving the growth of the orthopedic braces and supports the industry.The clinical microbiology market includes major Tier I and II suppliers like bioMérieux (France), Danaher Corporation (US), Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Abbott Laboratories (US), and Roche Diagnostics (Switzerland).
Other prominent players include Thermo Fisher Scientific (US), QIAGEN (Netherlands), 3M (US), Bio-Rad Laboratories (US), Bruker Corporation (US), and Hologic (US).
These suppliers have their manufacturing facilities spread across regions such as North America and Europe.COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well.
Demand for clinical microbiology from key end-users has declined a bit amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Industry experts believe that COVID-19 will have a short-term decline in the growth for the microbial testing market in 2020, but will experience normal development as the market gradually steadies by the end of 2020.Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=219135367Demand for conventional laboratories result in the segment occupying the high share of the clinical microbiology marketThe product segment owns a good market share in the microbial testing market.
The large share of this segment is attributed to factors such as the significant adoption of conventional laboratory instruments among researchers and academia (coupled with growing industry-academia collaborations for genomic research), technological advancements in the field of molecular techniques and proteomics (such as the integration of microfluidics with PCR and nanotechnology with qPCR techniques), and the ongoing trend of laboratory automation among clinical laboratories.Reagent estimated to be the growing microbial testing marketThe clinical microbiology reagents market is expected to witness sustained demand during the forecast period, owing to the high prevalence of infectious diseases across major markets (resulting in a growing number of clinical diagnostic procedures), the increasing trend of reagent rental agreements along with instrument sales, and a growing number of life science researches in the field of specific reagents for targeted infectious disease diagnosis and treatment, especially across emerging countries.
