In the past, our knowledge of the epidemiology of infective diarrhoea in routine clinical practice, was incomplete because the traditional methods of microscopy and culture are insensitive and detect only a limited range of pathogens. The introduction of a more...
Pertussis is a highly infectious respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis. It remains endemic in all countries, despite high vaccine coverage. Epidemic cycles are reported every 3 to 5 years. It affects people of all ages; however, young, unimmunised or...
Influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and SARS-CoV-2 - Influenza A detection rates continued to decline during July, dropping below 2% in week 30 (week ending 30 July). - Influenza B percentage positivity has remained below 1% throughout 2023 thus far. - RSV...
Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia) is an intravascular parasitic infection caused by flukes (trematodes) of the genus Schistosoma. Both S. haematobium and S. mansoni are endemic in South Africa in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, northern and eastern parts of Gauteng provinces and the...
Seasonal influenza is caused by influenza viruses which circulate worldwide, resulting in acute respiratory disease, predominantly during the winter months. Influenza virus is an enveloped virus with a segmented RNA genome. Laboratory and surveillance reports state...
While uncommon and NOT endemic to South Africa, the world is currently (and since 1961) experiencing the 7th global cholera outbreak according to historic record with more than 50 countries having endemic cholera. The current cholera outbreak in South Africa was...
Influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and SARS-CoV-2 Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) detection rates peaked in March and declined steadily during April across all age groups, with the exception of the 0-12 month olds where detection rates remained above 35%...
In an effort to further reduce result turnaround time and enhance the quality of the clinical microbiology service, the PathCare Reference laboratory has recently validated and installed the InoqulA sample processing system, part of the modular BD Kiestra™ Talon...
The PathCare molecular laboratory is pleased to announce a new in-house NGS assay designed to have specific relevance in targeted therapy for ovarian, breast, prostate and pancreatic carcinoma. This assay is named the BRCAPlus assay and is designed to sequence the...
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases declared the start of the influenza season in week 17 (week ending 1 May) and influenza A positivity rates have continued to increase during May 2022, reaching 36.1% during week 22 nationally (week ending 5 June)....