Diagnostic Centre

The Diagnostic Centre specialises in the diagnosis of parasite infections and is renowned for its many years of expertise in various - sometimes very rare - parasitic diseases. At the Diagnostic Centre, blood, serum, stool and urine samples are examined for parasites. Various detection methods such as immunodiagnostics, microscopic examinations or PCR are used. We receive the samples from the Centre for Tropical and Travel Medicine of Swiss TPH as well as from hospitals, doctors and private laboratories from all over Switzerland and the surrounding countries. In addition, serum samples are sent to us from all over the world to be tested for very rare parasitoses.
 

The Diagnostic Centre of Swiss TPH is the National Reference Centre for Diagnostics and Therapy of Human Parasitic Infections (NZP) and is accredited in Switzerland (STS 0426) according to the standard EN ISO / IEC17025. A major focus of the Centre is the provision of reference diagnostics for malaria cases in Switzerland. This emergency service is used approximately 200 times a year.

In addition to diagnostic services, our goal is to continuously improve existing diagnostic tests. As a leading reference centre, we attach great importance to the development and validation of new analytical methods. After intensive months of development, the Diagnostic Centre now offers a real-time PCR-Gastropanel for pathogenic intestinal protozoa.

Being part of the National Reference Centre for Imported Human Parasitic Diseases, one of our goals is to constantly improve existing tests and to introduce new assays for serodiagnosis of human parasitic diseases. Besides other serologies we offer a screening test for different invasive tissue helminth infections and serological tests for protozoan infections. One area of expertise is the serodiagnosis of helminth infections acquired by consumption of raw or undercooked fish dishes (Gnathosthoma spp., Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Anisakis spp.).

Our staff regularly teaches parasitic diagnostics in courses both in Switzerland and in some African and Asian countries. We also provide our expertise in research projects in the field of epidemiology and malaria fighting. In doing so, we can offer our active cooperation or the quality assurance of projects.
 

Swiss TPH regularly offers diagnostic courses focusing on the diagnosis of malaria, intestinal protozoa or helminths. The courses provide an insight into the biology and epidemiology, detection methods and clinical aspects of these tropical parasites. Participants will benefit from the expertise of lecturers with many years of laboratory and clinical experience. Courses are held in French and German.