[Revolution in diagnostic microbiology. Needs, driving forces and consequences].

Introducing molecular biological technology into medical microbiology promotes deeper insight into the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnostics and treatment of infectious diseases. New technology has helped to highlight the complicated biological interaction between host and microbes and has created a need for more advanced technology both in microbiological diagnostics and in microbiological science. Extra-professional factors like the high prestige of new techniques have also been of considerable significance. Medical microbiologists will become an important link between the inventors of new technology and the physicians who diagnose and treat the patients. Through these contacts and their diagnostic laboratory work, they will become important generators and communicators of knowledge. In this connection it will be important to represent reason in introducing technology in medical microbiological diagnostics. Since patients are expected to play a more active part in health care, communicating knowledge to patients and the population in general will become an obligation.