title: Molecular diagnostics in the public health laboratories.
abstract: At the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services laboratory, clinical laboratory scientists receive specimens from various health care facilities and clinics in the state, and identify and confirm organisms of particular health concern in a rapid and timely manner. Most of the assays performed are specialized tests that are not done routinely in the clinical laboratories. Identifying and monitoring infectious agents such as West Nile virus, Influenza 2009 A (H1N1) pdm, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, enteric organisms, etc. is part of the daily workload in the Public Health Laboratories. In addition, surveillance programs are in place to control the spread of various infectious agents and to aid in investigative epidemiologic purposes. The volume of samples and workload demands can be overwhelming especially in peak months such as summer (WNV) or winter (Influenza A) therefore, it was necessary to implement molecular diagnostics and robotic technology to aid in high throughput analysis. Molecular assays have become the "norm" not only in the public health laboratories but in most clinical microbiology laboratories as well. The use of molecular diagnostics has proven advantageous resulting in accurate results, decreased turn around times, and overall better patient care and outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Medical Laboratory Science Program, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 1776 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076, USA. joskotda@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Josko
mesh_terms: D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D008967:Molecular Biology; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D009515:New Jersey; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D014780:Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*