Following is the construction of the Public Health Laboratories in Israel:

Israel is divided according to 7 districts. Each district has its own Health office: Northern district (Nazareth), Haifa district, Tel-Aviv district, Central district (Lod), Jerusalem district, Southern district (Beer-Sheba), and Ashkelon district. The Golan area is annexed to the northern district. Judea and Samaria are receiving services from the Jerusalem district Health office and from the Central District Office.

In Israel there are 4 district Public Health Laboratories (PHL). Each laboratory supplies services to one or two districts. The division is: Haifa District Laboratory (Northern and Haifa districts); The “Felix” PHL in Tel-Aviv (Central and Tel-Aviv districts); Central Laboratories in Jerusalem (Jerusalem district); Beer-Sheba District Laboratory (Southern and Ashkelon districts); In addition to this, we have the Central Laboratory for Viral Infections at the “Sheba” Hospital in Tel-Hashomer.

In each one of the 4 PHLs we have laboratories which conduct food and water testing and laboratories which serve as Clinical Reference Laboratories (CRLs - which are called National Centers (NCs)) for various infectious diseases.

The Department of Laboratories (DOL) among other departments (i.e. “The Environmental Health dept.”, “The National Food Service”, “Tooth Health dept.”, “Nutrition Dept.”, “Education and Advancement of Health”, “The department of Nursing” etc.) belongs to the Public Health Services (PHS). The DOL is an administrative staff body, which directs and coordinates the system of PHLs including the system of the National Centers (NCs). The DOL is also functioning as the inspection authority on medical laboratories, and as the source of Ministry of Health (MOH) to initiative and device regulations, Standard Operating Procedures and guidelines concerning the work of health and clinical laboratories. The present head of the DOL is Dr. Abraham Mates.

The Institute for Standardization and Control of Pharmaceuticals, while not part of the PHS (it is a part of the Pharmaceutical Section) provides services for the PHS, one of their laboratories performs Toxicological testing and Insecticide Residue Testing in food and water.

All four-district laboratories test water for possible bacterial pollutants, and all except the Jerusalem laboratory test also for chemical pollutants. In addition the Tel Aviv laboratory tests metal elements and water micro-pollutants for most of the other labs. All four district laboratories test food for possible bacterial pollutants, and all except the Jerusalem laboratory perform also chemical and physical food testing.

The tests are conducted according to the Israeli law and the Standards for test performing are either original Israeli or adopted from official validated international standards. The results of the food and water tests are delivered to the environmental health engineers and food engineers the district health offices. There the results are evaluated and serve as input for various treatments of water and food in connection with local municipal authorities institutions, water pools, hotels, hospitals, businesses, manufactures, restaurants, importers etc.

The following NCs serve all of the clinical laboratories as Reference Laboratories for certain infectious diseases, as required by the law. Suspected specimens are sent from all clinical laboratories to verify and to determine species and strains of microbial infections. The attached table lists the reference laboratories and national centers.

Dr. Emanuel Gazit, Assistant director

Department of Laboratories

Ya'akov Eliav St. 9, Jerusalem 94467

P.O. Box 34410, Jerusalem 91342

Tel. 02-6551855/56/57; Fax. 972-2-6528079

Email: lbdemanuel@matat.health.gov.il

The following reference laboratories are located in the PHL

 

Central Laboratories Jerusalem

National center for E. coli and enterobacteriace

National center for Salmonella

National center for Shigela and Listeria

National center for Cholera and Campilobacter

National center for Streptoccocci B hemolitcus and Pneumococci

National center for the diagnisis of Malaria and Entero parsites

The "Felix" PHL in Tel-Aviv

National center for Trepanematosis

National center for Toxoplasmosis

National center for Mycobacteria

The Central Laboratory for Viral Infections in the Sheba Hospital

National center for Rubella

National center for Influenza and respiratory tract viruses

National center for Polio virus

National center for Herpes virus

National center for diareha causing viruses

National center for the laboratory verification of AIDS

The PHL in Haifa

National center for Enterotoxin of Staphilococcus aureus

The following reference laboratories are located out of the PHL

 

The Medical center of Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer

National center for Meningoccocci

The central laboratory for transplantation and tissue classification

The Institute for Imunohaematology and blood groups  National center for diagnosis and verification of blood groups (at the national central blood bank)

The Medical center of Rambam Hospital in Haifa

National center for Hepatitis

The Institute for Biological Research in Ness-Ziona

National center for Leptospirosis

National center for Riketttsiasis

National center for Arbo viruses

The Cameron Institute for Veterinary, Ministry of Agriculture Beit Dagan

National center for Brucelosis

National center for Butolinum

National center for Rabies

The Rabin Medical center (Beilinson)

National center for typing of Staphylococci and Clamydia

National center for Mycoplasma