CLSI Blog Articles

Read the latest articles about CLSI and laboratory standards in the official CLSI Blog. Browse our most recent blog articles below.

ISO Has Published a New Edition of ISO 15189—Requirements for Quality and Competence

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published a new edition of ISO 15189—Medical laboratories—Requirements for quality and competence. ISO 15189 is applicable to medical laboratories in developing their quality management systems and assessing their competence and for confirming or recognizing the competence of medical laboratories by laboratory users, regulatory authorities, and accreditation bodies. ISO 15189 is also pertinent to point-of-care testing (POCT).

WHO Report Indicates Increasing Antibacterial Resistance

A new World Health Organization (WHO) report reveals high levels of resistance in bacteria that cause life-threatening bloodstream infections, as well as increasing resistance to treatment in several bacteria causing common infections based on data reported by 87 countries in 2020.

AST and Antimicrobial Stewardship for the Veterinary Profession

Selecting antimicrobial agents for preventing, controlling, and treating bacterial disease in animals requires weighing multiple factors. These include likelihood of pathogenic bacteria being present, expected response to therapy, availability of effective formulations, logistics of administering drugs in animals, cost, and legal restrictions. Use of AST can provide evidence related to the expected response to therapy when AST is applied judiciously and interpreted appropriately.

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World Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2022

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) is an annual global campaign to improve awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and encourage best practices among the public, One Health stakeholders, and policymakers, who all play an important role in reducing the further emergence and spread of AMR. WAAW will be celebrated November 18-24.

Celebrate World Standards Day With CLSI

Standards make the world a safer place. They touch almost every part of our daily lives by ensuring that products and services work the way that we expect them to, making life safer and more enjoyable. Standards are essential to creating a fairer, more sustainable world and achieving the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

How We’re Working to Improve Global Health With the Pan-American Health Organization

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Member States have recognized CLSI as an official non-state actor for three years. PAHO acts as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO) and engages with non-state actors in view of their significant role in global health.

AST News Update June 2022: Updating Breakpoints–New Developments from CAP

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is introducing two new requirements for clinical laboratories to use updated breakpoints (BPs) when interpreting antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) results. CAP has recognized that some laboratories are using obsolete breakpoints, even when devices have achieved US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for updates, which could lead to adverse consequences in managing patients.

CLSI Welcomes New CEO, Barbara J. Jones, PhD

AST News Update June 2022: Hot Topic

Candida auris is an emerging yeast that is causing numerous outbreaks in health care settings, and life-threatening infections in patients worldwide.1 Most isolates of C. auris are multidrug resistant.

Monkeypox Testing Guidance and Resources

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is tracking multiple cases of monkeypox that have been reported in several countries that don’t normally report monkeypox, including the United States. They are urging healthcare providers in the US to be alert for patients who have rash illnesses consistent with monkeypox and are working with state and local health officials to identify people who may have been in contact with individuals who have tested positive for monkeypox, so they can monitor their health. According to CDC, Monkeypox is rare and does not spread easily between people without close contact. The threat of monkeypox to the general US population remains low.