Two lecturers from the Department of Biomedical Technology within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), have received recognition for their research papers at the 33rd World Congress of the International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences (IFBLS) conference held in Florence, Italy recently in September 2018.
The conference theme focused on the future development of Biomedical Laboratory Science.
Ms Jennifer Pienaar presented her research paper on Microbiome entitled: Survival and Recovery of Non Acid-Adapted Commensal and Enterotoxigenic E.Coli in a Simulated Gastric Environment.
During her presentation, Pienaar argued that Gastric fluid pH serves an important function as an ecological filter that may kill microbial taxa that would otherwise colonise the intestines, thereby shaping the diversity and composition of microbial communities found in the gut.
“With decreased gastric acidity, there is a higher probability of pathogen colonization and a resulting change in the gut microbiome,” she said. “The conclusion of the results foresee the potential increase of food- and waterborne diseases in individuals with compromised gastric function, or who are malnourished or immune compromised. The data herein may possibly help in establishing more precisely the risk associated with consuming bacterial contaminated foods and water in these individuals,” explained Pienaar.
Mr Warren Maule was also highly commended for his work focusing on CPD for Medical Technologists in South Africa: It’s Implementation and challenges ahead.
“It must be emphasised that the task of collecting CPD credits; i.e. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) remains the responsibility of the MT and is therefore a system based on, ‘trust’. A proposed framework, offers suggestions for CPD activities, whereby MT’s would accumulate a series of activities. This was to answer the concern, whether CPD should be measured by CEUs alone,” said Maule.
“All role players involved in the profession of Medical Technology should contribute to making CPD activities accessible to all registered MT’s and create a positive attitude to CPD. The role players would include the HPCSA, employers and top management, SMLTSA, Medical Companies, other Health Professionals, Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) and the individual. But is this happening today? For example, applications from MT’s to join SMLTSA are declining each year and morale among the majority of MT’s in S.A. is extremely low,” concluded Maul.
Congress participants had the opportunity to learn new technologies, the role of biomedical laboratory science in the delivery of ‘patient-centred’ healthcare, ‘personalised medicine’, ‘gender-medicine’ and its impact on Biomedical Laboratory Science.
The International Federation of Biomedical Laboratory Science (IFBLS) is an independent non-governmental association of national societies in 35 countries, representing more than 185 000 biomedical laboratory scientists and technologists worldwide.
