A frantic mother brings her 14 month-old baby to the emergency room after she was unable to awaken him from his afternoon nap.  She reports that he has had a cold with fever for several days. He vomited several times during the morning and refused to eat.  He seemed lethargic when she put him down for his nap. The ER physician suspects that the baby has meningitis, an infection of the central nervous system that can be rapidly fatal.  He performs a spinal tap (lumbar puncture) on the baby and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is rushed to the laboratory for testing.
 

In the Microbiology laboratory, the Medical Technologist will stain the CSF and examine it under the microscope, looking for bacteria.  If bacteria are seen, the physician will be notified immediately so that appropriate treatment can be started.  The CSF will also be cultured in order to grow the organism for further testing.  Once the organism has been grown, the technologist will perform tests for identification and antibiotic susceptibility.  These tests help the physician select the appropriate antibiotic to kill the bacteria.

 

Medical Laboratory Technicians and Medical Technologists who work in Microbiology help to diagnose other bacterial infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, wound infections, gonorrhea, and tuberculosis.  They also identify viruses, parasites, and fungi that cause infections.  They work with specimens such as blood, urine, sputum, feces, body fluids, and tissues and are trained in appropriate infection control procedures to protect themselves and others from infectious agents. They play a key role in the both the diagnosis and treatment of infections and stand ready to recognize and identify agents of bioterrorism.