Vet-LRN MSU 2012 Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health Michigan State University Project Summary/Abstract: The overall objective is to enhance the capability and capacity for surveillance, early detection of, rapid response to animal food or drug related illnesses or other large-scale animal food/feed emergency events requiring surge capacity testing of implicated diagnostic or animal food/feed samples. This increased capacity will occur within a full- service veterinary diagnostic laboratory staffed and equipped to provide complete pathological, microbiological, and comprehensive toxicological testing for FDA, CVM, and federal, state, or local agencies. The Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health (DCPAH), College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, serves as the official veterinary diagnostic laboratory for the State of Michigan and is one of the busiest in the U.S., conducting in excess of 1.3 million tests annually. The laboratory has an extensive client base, with clients in all 50 states and Canada. The staff comprises 120 faculty and support staff in eight laboratory sections, plus Epidemiology. Individual laboratory sections include Bacteriology, Virology, Immunodiagnostics/Parasitology, Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, Toxicology, Nutrition, and Endocrinology. DCPAH also houses wildlife biologists and diagnosticians from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and regulatory veterinarians from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). This unique arrangement facilitates efforts to address the important interface between domestic animals and wildlife. The laboratory is fully accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) to perform diagnostic testing on all animal species, and has been admitted to the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), the Laboratory Response Network (LRN), The Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), and the Veterinary Laboratory Response Network (Vet-LRN).
Vet-LRN MSU 2012 Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health Michigan State University Narrative: The detection of animal food contamination with dangerous bacteria, toxins or drugs requires the cooperation of veterinarians, veterinary diagnostic labs and federal regulatory agencies including FDA. The Veterinary Laboratory Network is a system of labs across the U.S. that have agreed to cooperate with the FDA in the detection of such contamination. This Cooperative Agreement will provide support to labs that participate in the testing of animals and animal feed for toxins, bacteria, or drugs.
