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Department of Microbiology

KMC , Manipal
Health Sciences

The Department of Microbiology at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, under Manipal Academy of Higher Education, was established in 1963 and is located in the Centre for Basic Sciences Building. The department integrates medical education, clinical microbiology diagnostics, infection-control support, and multidisciplinary research. Its laboratories provide specialised diagnostic services to Kasturba Hospital and other healthcare institutions through facilities covering bacteriology, mycobacteriology, mycology, parasitology, immuno-serology, HIV surveillance, and molecular diagnosis. The department’s diagnostic laboratories are NABL accredited under ISO 15189 and combine conventional microbiological techniques with advanced automation and molecular platforms.

Highlights

  • Established in 1963, with a longstanding role in medical microbiology teaching, diagnostic services, and infectious-disease research.
  • Provides multidisciplinary diagnostic services in bacteriology, anaerobic bacteriology, mycobacteriology, mycology, parasitology, immuno-serology, and molecular microbiology.
  • Offers a directory of approximately 97 diagnostic tests and processes around 25,000 clinical samples every month.
  • Operates a critical-care microbiology laboratory offering round-the-clock services for critically ill patients.
  • Uses advanced diagnostic platforms including BACT/ALERT Virtuo, MALDI-TOF or VITEK MS, VITEK 2, MGIT, GeneXpert, BioFire FilmArray, real-time PCR, automated immunoassay systems, and an anaerobic workstation.
  • The HIV Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre functions as a State Reference Laboratory recognised by NACO, while the Mycobacteriology Laboratory is recognised as a Designated Microscopy Centre for pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis.
  • Supports infection prevention through hospital surveillance, environmental sampling, antimicrobial-resistance monitoring, and quality-control assessment of sterilisation and disinfection practices.
  • Promotes undergraduate and postgraduate research through ICMR Short-Term Studentship mentoring, MD dissertations, conference presentations, interdisciplinary collaborations, and extramurally funded projects.