Microbiology

The RCPAQAP Microbiology discipline has been developed and evolved under the guidance of the RCPAQAP Microbiology Advisory Committee. Within this discipline, a Molecular Infectious Diseases sub-committee further guides the development of microbiology molecular diagnostics.

The last two decades have seen enormous change in Medical Microbiology. ‘New’ organisms (Helicobacter pylori, HIV, Hepatitis C virus) have been discovered and characterised. ‘New’ infectious diseases (AIDS, Lyme disease and Legionnaires’ disease) have been described. ‘Old’ infections (tuberculosis, malaria, and pertussis) have re-emerged as major threats and have become increasingly resistant to previously effective antibiotics (MRSA, Streptococcus pneumoniae, VRE).

Over this time, advances in technology and molecular medicine (automation, polymerase chain reaction) have added greatly to the Microbiologist’s diagnostic armamentarium. At the same time, Microbiology remains very much a ‘hands-on’ discipline. In many ways, it is an art as much as a science, and one in which an individual pathologist’s experience, judgment and interpretive skills are pivotal.

Clinical aspects involve control of outbreaks of infectious disease and dealing with the problems of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.