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Programs & Services


Public Health Laboratory (ProvLab)

Service is not provided directly to patients; this service provides tests and programs relating to public health.

Operating under Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) and based at two sites this service has a scope of approximately 2 million tests per year including environmental water testing (drinking water and recreational water), enteric disease related testing for outbreak investigation, immunity testing including prenatal testing, mycobacteriology, mycology, parasitology, transplant virology, zoonotic diseases, sexually transmitted infections, HIV, hepatitis viruses, vaccine preventable diseases and bioterrorism related testing.

The service provides clinical and public health microbiology testing and diagnostic algorithms, employing state-of-the-art methodologies including advanced molecular and genomics methods.

Also under the responsibility of ProvLab is the acute care clinical microbiology testing for the University of Alberta Hospital and the only containment level 3 laboratory in the province used for clinical diagnostic purposes.

In addition staff respond to outbreaks, emerging issues and emergency response situations as the need arises.

The trend in clinical microbiology continues to include multi-pathogen detection arrays, point-of-care rapid testing, as well as whole genome sequencing / genomics approaches to pathogen characterization. ProvLab is integrally involved in research for all of these issues.

For more information visit our website

Contact Details

Special Services Building

Location Info
ProvLab South; Located on Foothills Medical Centre Campus, entrance located on west side of Special Services Building
Address
3030 Hospital Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta
T2N 4W4
Telephone
403-944-1200 (General Enquiries), 403-944-1200 (Microbiologist/Virologist On Call), 403-944-1215 (Environmental Testing)
Fax
403-283-0142
Email
APL.ClientServices@albertaprecisionlabs.ca
Hours of Operation
Note

Clinical consultation is available 24 hours a day. Contact the Microbiologist/Virologist On Call.

Water Sample Drop Off

  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am - 11:00 pm (after 7:00 pm use phone by door)
  • Saturday: 7:00 am – 6:00 pm (use phone by door)
  • Sunday/Stat holidays: 7:00 am – 5:00 pm (use phone by door)

Water samples received after 4:00 pm are processed the next day; exceptions may apply for special investigative or follow-up sampling.

Emergency service is available 24 hours a day. Please contact the Microbiologist/Virologist On Call to access this testing.

Please see the ProvLab Guide to Services for more detailed information.

Access
Service Providers May Include
doctors, environmental technologists, epidemiologists, laboratory assistants, laboratory technologists, microbiologists, program leads, quality technologists, research staff, safety technologists, virologists
Referral Needed

Service is not provided directly to patients. Testing is requested by healthcare providers and results are provided only to healthcare providers.

Service Access

No access to the public. ProvLab does not provide direct phlebotomy or collection service to the public. Contact your physician to locate phlebotomy and collection sites within your community.

After Hours Access

If water samples must be processed after regular hours, weekends or statutory holidays, contact Environmental Testing during regular working hours to make special arrangements


Service Languages
Interpreter/Translation services
Service Locations
Also Known As
Previous
Provincial Laboratory for Public Health (ProvLab)
Other
ProvLab