VDL awarded Level 1 laboratory status
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

In March 2017, the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, part of the College (formerly known as the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health), was awarded Level 1 laboratory status in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).

A cooperative effort between two US Department of Agriculture agencies and the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD), the NAHLN is a nationally coordinated network of federal, state, and university-associated laboratories that provide animal health diagnostic testing to detect biological threats to the nation’s food animals, thus protecting animal health, public health, and the nation’s food supply. NAHLN labs perform surveillance and response testing for both endemic and foreign animal diseases. Laboratories must be approved to test for specific diseases and follow NAHLN standard operating procedures. In addition, laboratories must successfully complete proficiency testing administered through the National Veterinary Services Laboratory’s reference laboratories on a regular basis.

Based on the 2017 NAHLN assessment, the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) met the criteria to be awarded Level 1 status. Criteria include: full AAVLD accreditation; more than 1,000 square feet of Biosafety Level 3 laboratory space; a lab information management system that can actively message test results to the NAHLN; 5 or more individuals authorized to perform foot and mouth disease (FMD) and avian influenza (AI) testing; surge capacity for more than 750 tests per day for FMD and AI; NAHLN approval for testing 5 or more diseases; and testing more than 10,000 surveillance samples per fiscal year.

In 2017, there were 14 Level 1 laboratories, 28 Level 2 laboratories, 8 Level 3 laboratories, and 1 affiliate laboratory. The NAHLN assesses laboratories annually.

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“This year, surveillance for CWD here in Michigan and outbreaks of avian influenza in Asia and Europe, as well as the United States, underscored the need for laboratories such as ours to protect animals and the public from biological threats.”

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Nationwide, 24 NAHLN laboratories are approved to test for chronic wasting disease (CWD) by immunohistochemistry and/or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The MSU VDL is one of only nine labs approved to test by both methods. The lab’s ability to test for CWD has proven to be incredibly valuable to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ efforts in increasing surveillance after a free-ranging white-tailed deer was positively confirmed with CWD in May 2015.

“We are honored to be recognized as a Level 1 laboratory,” says Rachel Reams, director for the Laboratory. “This change in status reflects the quality of our testing; our commitment to having staff authorized to test for AI, FMD, CWD, scrapie, swine influenza, and other agents that pose a significant risk to agriculture; the level of surveillance testing we provide for the region; and our active involvement in NAHLN-related activities. This year, surveillance for CWD here in Michigan and outbreaks of avian influenza in Asia and Europe, as well as the United States, underscored the need for laboratories such as ours to protect animals and the public from biological threats.”