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Quality Control in Clinical Virology
Quality control in the clinical laboratory consists of a set of
procedures designed to help ensure delivery to the medical staff of
laboratory results that are consistent and accurate. These results must
be supplied in a timely fashion while the data is still clinically
relevant. A clinical virology laboratory should be designed in a manner
so that biohazard risks to the laboratory personnel and the general
public is minimized and that cultures are protected from environmental
contamination. A facility designed specifically for clinical virology
should;-
- Be physically separate from the microbiology laboratory and not
share common air returns or equipment such as hoods and incubators.
- The environment should be controlled so that the ambient
temperature is 22 - 26oC and the relative humidity 30
-50%.
- The facility should be under negative pressure with respect to
the rest of the laboratory area.
- Internally, the laboratory can be divided into positive and
negative air pressure areas; the positive for tissue culture and
media preparation, the negative for viral isolation or serology
because they deal with viable pathogens.
- All surfaces should be composed of materials that can be
decontaminated easily.
- Good standard microbiology measures should be observed such as
daily decontamination of all work surfaces, proper laboratory
attire, use of safe pipetting devices, and to minimize aerosol
generation.
- Biological safety hoods should be available for tissue culture
and viral isolation. Hood rooms should not have common air ducting
and the exhaust from hoods in which pathogens are handled be
externally vented.
- The facility must be properly maintained; biohazard wastes
properly disposed, floors disinfected periodically, air pressure
balance checked.
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