Following its annual OLAS audit, the bacteriology-mycology-antibioresistance and hospital hygiene service of LNS microbilogy department is now accredited for 90% of its activity.

The OLAS auditors’ visit last November had a particular challenge for the service: to pass the symbolic 90% mark for accredited analyses and to be accredited for 10 years. This has been the case since 25 January 2021 since OLAS renewed the ISO 15189 and ISO 17025 accreditations of the service for 5 years and granted the requested scope extensions. The service now offers a wide range of accredited analyses covering various fields such as: serotyping and antibiotic susceptibility testing of human and non-human strains of Salmonella, diagnosis of genital infections by culture* and molecular biology** and diagnosis of respiratory infections with B.pertussis/parapertussis, C.pneumoniae, M.pneumoniae, L.pneumophila and P.jirovecii by molecular biology (new in 2020). In addition, the unit has accredited 2 complete sectors of activity: the MYCOBACTERIES sector in 2018 and MYCOLOGY in 2019 and 2020.

The accreditation of the MYCOLOGY sector concerns direct examination, the culture of yeasts, dermatophytes and filamentous fungi on specific media, the Maldi-Tof identification of yeasts and moulds, and the detection by molecular biology of dermatphytes in general and T.rubrum in particular (“in house” method). The Maldi-Tof identification of moulds is a first in Luxembourg as it does not use Bruker’s database at all but an international database to which only a limited number of international laboratories have access, including the LNS. On the strength of the accreditation of these various analyses, the service is ready to apply for the status of National Reference Laboratory as soon as the announcement is published by the Ministry of Health.

In the meantime, the service is savouring its success, and is measuring how far it has come, not without effort, since obtaining its first accreditation certificate on 24 January 2011.

Congratulations to the whole team!

* => recherche de N.gonorrhoeae par culture sur frottis, urines et liquides
=> recherche, numération, identification et antibiogramme de mycoplasmes uro-génitaux
** => PCR C.trachomatis, N.gonorrhoeae et T.vaginalis sur frottis, urines et liquides divers
=> PCR M genitalium avec recherche des résistances aux macrolides sur frottis et urines