Diagnostic electron microscopy in human infectious diseases – Methods and applications

Diagnostic electron microscopy (EM) is indispensable in all cases of infectious diseases which deserve or profit from the detection of the entire pathogen (i.e. the infectious unit). The focus of its application has shifted during the last decades from routine diagnostics to diagnostics of special cases, emergencies and the investigation of disease pathogenesis. While the focus of application has changed, the methods remain more or less the same. However, since the number of cases for diagnostic EM has declined as the number of laboratories that are able to perform such investigations, the preservation of the present knowledge is important. The aim of this article is to provide a review of the methods and strategies which are useful for diagnostic EM related to infectious diseases in our days. It also addresses weaknesses as well as useful variants or extensions of established methods. The main techniques, negative staining and thin section EM, are described in detail with links to suitable protocols and more recent improvements, such as thin section EM of small volume suspensions. Sample collection, transport and conservation/inactivation are discussed. Strategies of sample examination and requirements for a proper recognition of structures are outlined. Finally, some examples for the actual application of diagnostic EM related to infectious diseases are presented. The outlook section will discuss recent trends in microscopy, such as automated object recognition by machine learning, regarding their potential in supporting diagnostic EM.