Only recently has it become possible to identify many abnormalities that may lead to thrombosis, the consequences of which include heart attacks, strokes, and pulmonary emboli. Medical technologists not only have been instrumental in identifying the abnormalities which are risk factors, but also in evaluating the effectiveness of therapies proposed to treat them. These may be bacterial, parasitic, fungal or viral. Medical technologists are the detectives that isolate and identify both common and uncommon organisms. To aid the physicians in treating infectious diseases, the organisms must be tested for susceptibility to antibiotics and monitored for emerging resistance patterns.
Tuberculosis is an example of a microorganism that is becoming more resistant to treatment.
International travel and immigration often result in patients in the United States presenting with parasites previously found only in other parts of the world. These parasites are identified by medical technologists in the microbiology laboratory. Patients who have recieved organ or bone marrow transplants are at high risk for unusual infections with fungi or molds. Mycology is the division of microbiology that involves the culture and identification of fungi that cause disease. Knowledge and understanding in the field of virology is increasing exponentially, and medical technologists perform sophisticated tests, often using biomolecular techniques, to identify the presence of a specific virus as well as the viral load, and evaluate the patient's response to new drug protocols, thus determining the effectiveness of therapy.