International Conference on Medical and Clinical Microbiology July 03-04, 2017 AVANI Atrium Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand

Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents, including their taxonomy, disease-producing properties, cultivation and genetics. It is often considered as a part of microbiology or pathology. Clinical virology is a branch of medicine which consists in isolating and in characterising one or several viruses responsible for some human pathology by various direct or indirect techniques. It also consists in proving the absence of resistance of viruses in treatment antiviral by viral genome sequencing to adapt the antiviral therapeutics at best.

Clinical bacteriology is the science or study of bacteria and their relation to medicine and to other areas such as agriculture and industry. Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms which can live as independent organisms or dependently like a parasite. Clinical microbiologists use microscope to examine smears of original samples to obtain early information.

                           Cultures are incubated at optimal temperatures and in special atmospheres to maximize recovery of pathogens.  After incubation, they study supportive and differential agar Petri dish cultures of specimens for the colony morphologies suggestive of pathogenic bacteria, the nature of which varies depending on the type of specimen and source of the specimen. 

Parasitology is the study of three major groups of animals: parasitic protozoa, parasitic helminths or worms, and those arthropods that directly cause disease or act as vectors of various pathogens. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment , but by their way of life. This means it forms a synthesis of other disciplines, and draws on techniques from fields such as cellbiology,bioinformatics, genetics and ecology.

Mycology is the branch of biology deals with fungi and their biochemical and genetic properties. Many fungi produce toxins, antibiotics, and other secondary metabolites. The significant study of fungus in clinical microbiology has proven that in spite normal and immune-compromised infection, it may lead to chronic infection. Some fungi  may  cause disease in humans and other organisms. The study of pathogenic fungi is referred to as medical mycology.  Current research states that mushrooms may have hypoglycemic, anti-pathogenic, anti-cancer and immune system-enhancing activity. Mycotoxicology is another branch of mycology that focuse on the study  of toxins  produced by fungi, called as mycotoxins

                  Immunology is a branch of biology that deals with the study of immune systems in all the organisms whereas Clinical immunology is the study of the diseases caused by disorders of the immune system. It also involves diseases of other systems, as immune reactions play a part in the clinical features and pathology. Immune system disorders include various hypersensitivities such as asthma and other allergies that respond inappropriately to otherwise harmless compounds. The most well-known disease that affects the immune system is AIDS, an    immunodeficiency characterized by the suppression of ( CD4+) "helper" T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Molecular technique is used in molecular microbiology (Molecular biology is the science of biomolecules) to detect the presence of the pathogens in a sample like air, water, organ tissue, etc.

The application of molecular technology in medicine is almost endless, some of the applications of molecular methods are:

1. Classification of the organism based on genetic relation

2. Identification and confirmation of isolate obtained from the culture

3. Detection of pathogens in clinical specimen

4. Rapid detection of antibiotic resistance

5. Detection of mutations

6. Differentiation of toxigenic  from non-toxigenic strains

7. Detection of microorganisms that lose viability during transport, impossible, dangerous and costly to culture, grow slowly or present in extremely small numbers in the clinical specimen.

 8. Apart from their role in microbiology, these techniques can also be used in identifying abnormalities in forensic medicine and humans.

Microbiological culture is the primary method used in isolating infectious disease for study in the laboratory. Rapid identification of microorganisms in clinical samples enables expedient de-escalation from broad-spectrum agents to targeted antimicrobial therapy. This impetus adoption of rational sampling with balanced cost has impetuously led to developments of improved workflow and output in the field of clinical microbiology.

The  scientific study or diagnostic examination of the blood serum, especially with regard to the response of the immune system to pathogens and introduced substances. Serological tests may be performed for diagnostic purposes when an infection is suspected in Rheumatic illnesses, and in many other situations, such as checking an individual's blood type. 

          Serology blood tests help to diagnose the patients with certain immune deficiencies associated with the lack of antibodies, such as X-linked agammaglobulinemia. In such cases, tests for antibodies will be consistently negative. Some serological tests are not limited to blood serum, but can be performed on other bodily fluids such as semen and saliva, which have similar properties to serum.

There are several serology techniques that can be used depending on the antibodies being studied. 

Antimicrobial chemotherapy is the clinical application of antimicrobial agents used to treat the infectious disease. Antimicrobial chemotherapy should not be confused with the oncological chemotherapy. The word chemotherapy originally meant the any chemical agent is used to treat a disease. Antimicrobial chemotherapy will act by interfering with the cell wall synthesis, nucleic acid synthesis,plasma membrane integrity and folate synthesis and ribosomal function.

Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the patterns, causes and effects of health science  and the disease conditions in defined populations. The word epidemiology is a  Greek word,   Epi meaning "on or upon," demos, meaning "people," and logos, meaning "the study of”.Epidemiology is a tool for public health action to promote and protect the public's health. it is a quantitative discipline built on a working knowledge of the probability, statistics, and sound research methods. The focus of the Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Population Health is to gain new understanding of the inter-relationship of genetic and environmental factors impacting on human health, providing the scientific basis for translation of this knowledge to public health action.

An antimicrobial is a agent that kills the microorganisms or inhibits their growth. Among the antimicrobial agents are antibacterial drugs, antiviral agents, antifungal agents, and antiparisitic drugs. Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. The use of antimicrobial medicines to treat infection is known as antimicrobial chemotherapy, while use of antimicrobial medicines to prevent infection is known as antimicrobial prophylaxis. Use of substances with antimicrobial properties is known to have been common practice for at least 2000 years.

                         The main classes of antimicrobial agents are disinfectants  such as bleach, which kill a wide range of microbes on non-living surfaces to prevent the spread of illness , antiseptics , and antibiotics. Many antimicrobial agents exist, for use against a wide range of infectious diseases. Most of the natural antibiotics which are being used in the agriculture and medicine are produced by three unrelated groups of microbes, including eucaryotic molds and two types of spore-forming bacteria.

                 Microbiology,it is the most important disciplines, not only in life-sciences, but also in other sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), and it is most actively involved inter-disciplinary sciences in the research areas. The way microbial sciences have complexly braided their way in the research fields clearly shows how strong the foundation and  walls of the Microbiology are being built. Microbiology has a myriad of sub-disciplines which are inter-related with other branches of education- art, mathematics, health care, traditional and ancient medicines, statistics, and metallurgy