Collections

Accurate diagnostic tests are fundamental in the quality of care and to establish the best outcome for patients and the wider population. Despite continued advances in diagnostic technologies, many patients are still undiagnosed or mis-diagnosed which can lead to ineffective management, treatments, and poor outcomes. There is a continual need to improve the complete patient and sample pathway, including pre-analytical decision making, analytical technologies, and post-analytical interpretation and decision making. Novel  tests that can identify a specific pathogen or at a minimum, distinguish between different types of bacterial, viral, parasitic or fungal infections, and ideally provide information on ways to effectively treat are becoming increasingly prevalent. This continual improvement leads to improvements in clinical outcomes for patients, effective treatment stewardship, detection and tracking of disease outbreaks, and investigation of unknown pathogens. Moreover, the improvement of regulatory systems and quality practices ensures the sustainability in the progression of improvement practices.

The Microbiology Society’s Journal of Medical Microbiology has collaborated with the Association for Laboratory Medicine to create this special collection on Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases. In this collection, we provide insightful and impactful articles highlighting a wide range of areas contributing to the continual development of better diagnostic pathways in infection, from novel technical advances and quality systems to the importance of effective infrastructure and leadership.  

This collection aims to showcase the breadth, complexity, and importance of diagnostics in infectious diseases and public health, including to a non-specialist audience.

Editors: Rob Shorten and Mathew Diggle

Status: Closed for submissions


Photo credit: iStock/ Md Saiful Islam Khan