Diagnostic Laboratory

Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology operates a diagnostic laboratory which provides services to the University Veterinary Hospital (UVH), as well as to external clients.

Staff in the bacteriology section have set up new measures to monitor and investigate antibiotic resistance in bacteria isolated from pathological specimens. The details of all unusual isolates, including those which show exceptionally resistant antimicrobial resistance patterns, are now recorded in a new database. Data is reviewed regularly and isolates considered of particular interest are identified for further analysis. To-date extensive analysis has been carried out into the molecular basis of resistance in isolates of Acinetobacter spp. and molecular techniques have been employed in the investigation of the epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in animals and associated human personnel. Three articles are now either published or accepted for publication in scientific journals and a number of others are in preparation.