If you have any concerns that home-canned food may be tainted, please throw it out. The Bacteriology Section also performs testing for Giardia , which is a parasite that can cause diarrhea. Other than Giardia, the UPHL no longer performs routine parasite testing which is available at private laboratories. The UPHL is getting ready to start more screening for Pertussis also known as whooping cough. It is important to know if people have pertussis or a virus, because pertussis can be treated with antibiotics and a virus cannot be treated with antibiotics.
Adults can catch pertussis and give it to babies before they receive their immunizations.
The UPHL has been involved in multiple studies to determine the most cost-effective way to screen women of childbearing age. Chlamydia is the leading cause of infertility in women. Women can have chlamydia and not have any symptoms. One very important mission of UPHL is to screen women who are not ill and see if they have Chlamydia. If they do, they are then treated to prevent infertility.