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CAHFS is an active member of the NAHLN, fully committed to providing enhanced diagnostic capability and capacity in order to strengthen the nation's animal health and agricultural economy. As a participating NAHLN laboratory, CAHFS will provide educational outreach and training for disease diagnostics and quality assurance, expand national laboratory testing capacity, improve and validate diagnostic technologies and laboratory information management systems, and provide related laboratory expertise for animal disease response activities within the United States. CAHFS will support national surveillance and diagnostics by providing technical expertise and critical laboratory infrastructure for USDA programs including AI, END, BSE, and CSF, as well as for emerging diseases and/or new programs as they are identified by USDA program staff. Critical to these activities will be the ongoing enhancement of laboratory quality assurance, assay development and validation, equipment platform review, Select Agent program participation, and preparedness for emergency disease response involvement. CAHFS is dedicated to enhancing the NAHLN in early detection and rapid laboratory response following introduction of an animal disease agent, whether a naturally occurring or an intentional disease event, in order to facilitate rapid and appropriate recovery from a potential animal agriculture catastrophe in the U.S.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The individual member diagnostic laboratories in the NAHLN provide critical and enhanced diagnostic capabilities and capacity in order to help protect and strengthen the nation's animal health and agricultural economies, food safety and public health. <P>
APPROACH: The CAHFS laboratory will support the NAHLN in educational outreach, technical development, and diagnostic laboratory support. CAHFS will provide outreach to industry, veterinary professionals, partner diagnostic laboratories, students, and animal health stakeholders through use of newsletters, web sites and other written materials, courses, and technical presentations. NAHLN activities and the associated role in animal health emergency response activities will be presented to relevant partners and agencies throughout the granting period. CAHFS will provide facilities and technical expertise for tabletop exercises that involve NAHLN partners, first-responders, and allied animal health partners. CAHFS will coordinate with AAVLD to provide NAHLN laboratory audit training and will participate in Quality Symposia and NAHLN-related quality management activities. CAHFS will participate in on-site review and pilot data population of quality management software for the continuous evaluation of assay performance and assay validation documentation. CAHFS will work in collaboration with international standards organizations and allied animal health partners to meet the shared data system and networking needs of the NAHLN, and will provide technical and training support to NAHLN IT partners. CAHFS will continue to provide technical capacity and capability for the NAHLN to include active participation in ongoing disease detection, surveillance, assay development and validation programs, as well as timely involvement in new and emerging issues, such as Swine Influenza Virus and vvIBD virus. CAHFS will maintain communication and diagnostic support within the three national laboratory networks: NAHLN, FERN, and LRN. CAHFS will support national preparedness and response planning by maintaining Select Agent registration, staff training, BSL3 facility-use training, and emergency response exercises. Included in that effort, CAHFS will formally review local Situation Reports and Response activities generated from recently emergent threat issues in order to effectively share "laboratory lessons learned" and generate additional response flexibility for future NAHLN-related emergency disease responses.