Our scope of approximately 2 million tests per year includes, but is not limited to, 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.
We strive to provide the most appropriate clinical and public health microbiology testing and diagnostic algorithms, employing, when applicable, the most state-of-the-art methodologies including advanced molecular and genomics methods.
Also currently under the responsibility of Public Health Laboratory (ProvLab) is the acute care clinical microbiology testing for the University of Alberta Hospital. The Edmonton ProvLab site houses the only containment level 3 laboratory in the province used for clinical diagnostics purposes.
In addition to the tests mentioned above Public Health Laboratory (ProvLab) staff, numbering in excess of 400, 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. Public Health Laboratory (ProvLab) is integrally involved in research for all of these issues.
