The TB laboratory at CDC is an important part of the National TB Programme and operates similarly to the department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (DLMP) at HMC. The DLMP lab receives approximately 25,000 specimens and process 55,000 tests annually.
The laboratory provides the service to both public and private healthcare sectors. As the lab is the only TB diagnostic centre in Qatar, this ensures that the CDC team has access to all the relevant information required to make clinical diagnoses and monitor patient progress, while patients undergo treatment at the centre.
The sophisticated laboratory is designed to meet the growing demand for individualised treatment and care to all patients, and works hand in hand with the Ministry of Public Health and other stakeholders to reduce the impact of communicable diseases on the population.
Dr. Zubaida Daham al-Suwaidi, head of the TB Laboratory, said the facility conducts "a broad range of TB tests and analyses using the gold standard test and the latest technology, microscopy, culture and drug susceptibility testing of TB as well as molecular diagnostic tests which provide rapid, highly sensitive and cost effective results.”
Dr al-Suwaidi highlighted that molecular tests have a high impact on patient’s treatment and management by speeding up the TB detection process.
“The TB laboratory, a bio-safety level three facility, is managed by a committed team of skilled clinical consultants, clinical scientists, and medical technologists with expertise in the use of sophisticated laboratory equipment. In addition to diagnostic services, the lab contributes to educational programmes for university students, residents, and fellows in the field of infectious diseases. It also conducts and is involved in TB research within HMC for both national and international scientific groups," Dr. al-Suwaidi added.
The lab partners with the CDC, Ministry of Public Health, the World Health Organisation and other stakeholders in the private sector, to report laboratory confirmed cases of TB in Qatar and explore ways to eliminate the infectious disease. In 2014, DLMP became the first integrated laboratory network in Qatar to have its laboratories accredited by the College of American Pathologists.
The laboratory provides the service to both public and private healthcare sectors. As the lab is the only TB diagnostic centre in Qatar, this ensures that the CDC team has access to all the relevant information required to make clinical diagnoses and monitor patient progress, while patients undergo treatment at the centre.
The sophisticated laboratory is designed to meet the growing demand for individualised treatment and care to all patients, and works hand in hand with the Ministry of Public Health and other stakeholders to reduce the impact of communicable diseases on the population.
Dr. Zubaida Daham al-Suwaidi, head of the TB Laboratory, said the facility conducts "a broad range of TB tests and analyses using the gold standard test and the latest technology, microscopy, culture and drug susceptibility testing of TB as well as molecular diagnostic tests which provide rapid, highly sensitive and cost effective results.”
Dr al-Suwaidi highlighted that molecular tests have a high impact on patient’s treatment and management by speeding up the TB detection process.
“The TB laboratory, a bio-safety level three facility, is managed by a committed team of skilled clinical consultants, clinical scientists, and medical technologists with expertise in the use of sophisticated laboratory equipment. In addition to diagnostic services, the lab contributes to educational programmes for university students, residents, and fellows in the field of infectious diseases. It also conducts and is involved in TB research within HMC for both national and international scientific groups," Dr. al-Suwaidi added.
The lab partners with the CDC, Ministry of Public Health, the World Health Organisation and other stakeholders in the private sector, to report laboratory confirmed cases of TB in Qatar and explore ways to eliminate the infectious disease. In 2014, DLMP became the first integrated laboratory network in Qatar to have its laboratories accredited by the College of American Pathologists.
