Recipient Organization
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
2229 Lincoln Way
AMES,IA 50011
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The financial resources provided to the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ISU VDL) as a core laboratory in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) are essential in enhancing animal disease monitoring capabilities and capacity, demonstrating competence and compliance of well-defined testing standards, supporting the development and implementation of quality assurance programs that drive the continuous improvement of the laboratory, increasing collaboration and connectivity between state and federal animal health officials and diagnostic laboratories, and improving foreign or emerging animal disease testing, surveillance, and containment capabilities. NAHLN's support of the ISU VDL is essential in driving the continual improvement of the laboratory's ability to adequately serve and protect the health and well-being of US food-animal agriculture and the safety and abundance of our nation's food-supply. Federal support through the NAHLN is a cornerstone of enhancing our laboratory, regional, and national preparedness to effectively monitor and respond to emerging diseases of importance to both animal and human health. These funds have enabled the ISU VDL the ability to maintain a BSL- 3 capable diagnostic laboratory space and proficiency-trained diagnostic technicians that must be prepared when a disease outbreak occurs and utilized on a regular basis for foreign, emerging, and domestic disease surveillance. These funds also support laboratory information technology infrastructure, capabilities, and personnel to develop and use data systems necessary for secure management and transmission of sensitive laboratory data. Similarly, support through the NAHLN has been critical towards enhancing the ISU VDL's quality assurance programs that validate the accuracy and reliability of the test results to reassure decision-makers and foreign trading partners that they can have confidence in the results. In short, funding received through the NAHLN is used as an extremely efficient and effective means of leveraging the capabilities existing at the ISU VDL to enhance the US diagnostic system serving to protect animal health, human health, and the greater than 100 billion dollar US animal agricultural economy.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The ISU VDL will take the following actions to fulfill the responsibilies of a Level 1 laboratory:Meet all responsibilities of a Level 1 laboratory as outlined in the 2023 Agreement for Participation in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) As a Level 1 Laboratory.Increase NAHLN capabilities and capacity in addressing an adverse animal health event such as may occur with an emerging disease detection or foreign animal disease outbreak.Some highlights include:1. Accept and rapidly test samples in support of disease investigations, surveillance and outbreak situations.2. Provide diagnostic data per the specified timelines and reporting requirements.3. Maintaining full accreditation by AAVLD or by an accrediting body according to OIE/ISO 17025 standard and provide documentation of such.4. Actively and consistently electronically message diagnostic test results, using HL7 standards, to the Laboratory Messaging System (LMS) or other VS systems for all laboratory approved NAHLN assays able to be messaged.?
Project Methods
The ISU VDL will fulfill the responsibilities of a Level 1 laboratory as outlined in the 2023 Agreement for Participation in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) As a Level 1 Laboratory. All diagnostic testing services conducted in fulfilling the responsibilities of this agreement will be done in accordance with the quality assurance requirements of laboratories accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and the USDA NAHLN.The ISU VDL is a full-service and fully accredited (all-species) veterinary diagnostic laboratory. ISU VDL's team of approximately 30 faculty and 150 staff (≈ 180 full-time equivalents) are responsible for processing approximately 120,000 case submissions and conduct more than 1,600,000 tests per year. The ISU VDL offers necropsy, histopathology, bacteriology, clinical microbiology, virology, molecular microbiology, serology, and analytical (toxicology, nutrition, and pharmacology) support to practicing veterinarians for all categories of animals. The major species served are porcine, bovine, and avian (poultry) which account for approximately 90% of the accessions and approximately 95% of the overall diagnostic services provided.The ISU VDL works closely with Iowa's state and federal animal health officials and has been actively contributing to the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) since participating as one of the original NAHLN core (now Level 1) laboratories since 2002. Enhancing animal disease monitoring capabilities and capacity, demonstrating competence and compliance of well-defined testing standards, increasing collaboration and connectivity between state and federal diagnostic laboratories, and improving foreign or emerging animal disease testing and containment capabilities are all core objectives of the ISU VDL and the NAHLN. The ISU VDL monitors its heavy case load of diagnostic submissions for diseases of high-consequence, maintains an adequate staff of proficiency-tested technicians and a BSL-3 capable diagnostic facility capable of assisting the NAHLN in emergency situations, and actively participates in a number of state and federal disease surveillance programs (i.e., Antimicrobial Resistance, Avian Influenza, African Swine Fever, Chronic Wasting Disease, Classical Swine Fever, Exotic Newcastle Disease, Foot and Mouth Disease, Pseudorabies, Type A Influenza of Swine, etc.).