The NAHLN Update 2017
Volume 8, No. 1
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH LABORATORY NETWORK (NAHLN)
A STATE AND FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP TO SAFEGUARD ANIMAL HEALTH  
Founding Principles and Features of the NAHLN
  • Operate within a quality management system
  • Establish and maintain competency of laboratory personnel
  • Use Standardized protocols, reference materials, and equipment
  • Use facilities with biosafety/biosecurity levels requisite for testing performed
  • Participate in communications and real time electronic reporting systems
  • Evaluate preparedness (identify and prioritize gaps) through scenario testing  
 


In This Issue:

News Briefs

APHIS Laboratory Portal

Getting to know Us: Todd Bleifuss

Laboratory Messaging Services

NAHLN Lab Director Feature

NAHLN Controlled & Uncontrolled Document Q&A


Round up

  Current Number of Subscribers: 

1616

NEWS BRIEFS:

  • Veterinary Services has identified messaging capabilities as a priority, requiring focused efforts within the NAHLN to expand the number of labs that successfully message test results routinely.  The Coordinating Council is discussing efforts and incentives to improve the Network’s messaging capabilities, and will be providing more information and timelines to NAHLN labs in the coming months.

  • The NAHLN Program Office (NPO) has updated the questions pertaining to laboratory testing capacity and capabilities on the “Operations” and “Facilities” pages of the APHIS Laboratory Portal (ALP) (formerly the NAHLN Portal).  The NPO will be using laboratory responses entered into the Portal for the 2018 laboratory self-assessment.  Therefore, it is critical that each laboratory ensures all information on these pages is updated as soon as possible.

  • In an effort to get all controlled documents distributed through the Portal SOP-My-Library site; documents previously provided as “hard copy” will be uploaded to this page during the month of June.  Labs must acknowledge each document on the SOP-My-Library page before downloading them.  The receipt form, FM-NAHLN-0001, will still be provided for designated laboratory personnel to sign and return to the NAHLN Program Office to acknowledge that new versions of a document(s) have been entered into your laboratory’s quality management system.

  • The 2017 FY APHIS budget includes $7 million for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) efforts.  The NPO will be providing more information on how this will impact the AMR pilot project in the coming months.

  • The 2017 FY omnibus bill increased NIFA’s budget line by an additional $1.3 million, with this increase going specifically to the NAHLN.  A portion of this increase will be included in the NAHLN infrastructure support agreements this year.  
Input Welcome!  
We appreciate hearing from you!  Are there other topics that you would like to hear about?   Please email your comments to us at NAHLN@aphis.usda.gov .   
APHIS Laboratory Portal
The NAHLN Portal went live in December 2011 as a secure, web-based mechanism for NAHLN laboratories to input and update their NAHLN-related information.  In April of this year, the NAHLN Portal had a name change and is now known as the APHIS Laboratory Portal.  The functionality remains the same, including locations for verifying USDA-owned equipment, updating lab personnel contact information, uploading documents and forms associated with the annual laboratory approval process, and securely accessing electronic versions of approved standard operating procedures.  This has resulted in significantly improved and more efficient communications between the NAHLN Program Staff and our member laboratories.   

One of the modules in the APHIS Laboratory Portal, the proficiency test (PT) module, allows NAHLN laboratory personnel to view and register participants for upcoming PTs, submit PT test result data and receive their PT pass/fail results online.  The standardization of these features for coordinating proficiency testing across approximately 60 NAHLN laboratories, over 950 users, and 14 diseases under NAHLN scope has been extremely successful, and is greatly appreciated by both the laboratories, NAHLN program staff and NVSL reference lab staff.  

News of the early success in managing NAHLN PTs through the Portal prompted other laboratory networks in APHIS to contact the NAHLN about using it for their labs as well.  In 2012, work began with the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) and the Portal’s developers to build a PT module online for use with their National Plant Protection Laboratory Accreditation Program (NPPLAP).  NPPLAP is one of the accreditation programs used by the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN), which is operational in every U.S. state and its territories.  Several NPDN labs have achieved and are successfully maintaining NPPLAP accreditations, and 6 of the NPPLAP PTs are currently administered through the NAHLN Portal.  

Due to the success of administering both NAHLN and NPPLAP PTs through the Portal, in 2013 the National Veterinary Service Laboratories (NVSL) Director contacted the NAHLN Program Office about using the PT module to standardize the delivery of APHIS-approved PTs and check tests that are provided through NVSL’s reference laboratories.  Soon thereafter, work began with NVSL PT managers to deliver 23 additional APHIS PTs and check tests provided by NVSL to over 350 laboratories.  As of 2017, all of NVSL’s PTs are now being offered through the Portal.  Additionally, a PT Managers working group was stood up which is overseen by the NVSL Proficiency Testing and Reagents (PTR) Section.  This working group helps coordinate PT offerings across NVSL, with the goal of improving the process for both internal and external customers using the PT module in the Portal.   

Today over 400 laboratories and over 1750 users register for upcoming PTs, submit their PT test result data, and receive PT pass/fail results online through the Portal.  Cindy Chard-Bergstrom, NAHLN Microbiologist, was nominated for an APHIS Unsung Hero Award for her dedication to expanding the APHIS Laboratory Portal and her vision for applying the tools developed to work smarter across NAHLN, NVSL and APHIS.  Congratulations Cindy on the nomination; we appreciate your efforts to improve the delivery of PT’s across NVSL!

Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS STAS NVSL, Ames, IA.
 
Getting to know US:  Todd Bleifuss
Todd Bleifuss is a System Analyst for Program Support Services, Department of Information Technology in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Todd began his federal career with APHIS in 2007 as a contractor and was hired as a System Analyst in the autumn of 2008.  

Todd received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics, with Math and Geology minors from the University of Minnesota in Duluth and a Master of Science in Physics from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.  Todd also studied Geophysics, at Boston College and spent two years developing a program that used Monte Carlo methods to assess earthquake hazard in New England.  

What are your current work duties in regards to NAHLN? “ Currently I support the Laboratory Management System (LMS) as a System Analyst.  That work is a mixture of data analysis related to operational functions of the LMS and support of labs that message results to the LMS.  The latter is directed toward technically correct messaging: valid xml, inclusion of elements that may be optional in HL7 but are needed by the NAHLN and others that consume the data.   

Additionally I am the system analyst for the Emergency Management Response System2 (EMRS2) and work with Nadia (Semaszczuk) Schultz on the Comprehensive Laboratory Surveillance Module (CLSM).  We work to ensure that there is a good integration between these systems and the LMS.  EMRS2 depends heavily on testing results from NAHLN laboratories during outbreaks such as the current and past AI incidents.  The CLSM is a new pilot coming up that modernizes the Veterinary Services Laboratory System (VSLS) for the Swine Health commodity group.  Its purpose is to provide the epidemiological context for testing results in LMS as initially envisioned.  By marrying results in LMS to field side collection information of epidemiological significance it can deliver a more complete data set to a management information system comprising the results and the context necessary to make animal health surveillance decisions. ”  

Please share your thoughts on the NAHLN Program/ mission? “ It would seem impossible to conduct surveillance or assess the existence, extent or spread of a foreign animal disease without competent diagnostic testing to support field side observations.  Further when an outbreak of significance occurs the timely dissemination of testing results is imperative.  I believe the NAHLN strives for excellence on both fronts.  The first through continued monitoring, assessment and development of both existing and new testing methodologies, and the second through encouraging diagnostic laboratories to implement modern IT solutions that support the electronic communication of results to stakeholders. ”  

What family information would you like to share? “ My father grew up on a dirt farm. His father was a surgeon in the army serving in WWI and later became the public health officer for Rochester when the Mayo brothers were getting started.  After a stint as a sergeant in the 82nd airborne he went back to school on the GI bill to obtain a Ph.D. in mining engineering and went on to run the US Steel Research lab in Coleraine, MN, eventually overseeing its successful transition to the University of Minnesota when US Steel closed their research facilities. We grew up fixing or building things ourselves.  But as my father once said when a form collapsed into which we had just poured concrete for the footing for an addition on the house: he left the farm because something was always breaking.  I sometimes feel the same working with IT systems. ”    

Todd got Cailean as a puppy in 2012. Since then, they enjoy time sailing and skiing.  As the picture shows, Cailean is an accomplished sailor.   We ’ d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your hard work and dedication to the support of the LMS system.  
Photo submitted by Todd Bleifuss,  
        USDA/APHIS/DIT/SS&D Branch | System Analyst

Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS STAS NVSL, Ames, IA.
Laboratory Messaging Services
Laboratory Messaging Services (LMS) is a critical component in the Veterinary Services IT systems infrastructure. It provides NAHLN laboratories with the ability to quickly and accurately report laboratory test results for animal diseases using standardized terminology (HL7, SNOMED, LOINC).  LMS routes data to other VS systems to facilitate routine surveillance as well as ensure a rapid response to high profile animal disease outbreaks such as HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza).  The service was originally designed to store messages in an Oracle repository that was tightly coupled to the HL7 schema with subsets of the data extracted and interpreted based on needs known at the time.  

As LMS utilization increased, two significant flaws in the design emerged.  First, it lacked flexibility to accommodate changes to the message schema in response to new needs such as modifying, adding or relaxing validation rules.  Second, as reporting needs evolved, additional elements of the message needed to be extracted and/or reinterpreted.  Both of these deficiencies were compounded by resource limitations related to the selected technology stack.  

As the effort required to support the above issues began to substantially increase, Nate Plumm and Shane Linke (from the Program Support Services, Division of Information Technology) proposed a redesign of the solution.  Using a proven approach and experience from other VS applications, they proposed utilizing Microsoft SQL Server to store the raw HL7 message received from NAHLN laboratories and then fully extract the unprocessed data in the message to a series of hierarchal tables.  These tables make reporting, analysis and routing of LMS data to other systems downstream far more simple and efficient.  In addition, the underlying HL7 XML schema in the SQL Server database was relaxed so any changes to validation rules would no longer require changes to be made by a database administrator or a new schema to be registered.  This makes it completely flexible and fluid with the evolving nature of reporting laboratory results.  After a brief proof-of-concept and acceptance by leadership, the LMS redesign in SQL Server has been in production over a year and has been a resounding success with more than 99.99% uptime.  

Article provided by Nate Plumm and Shane Linke from Program Support Services, Division of Information Technology, USDA APHIS VS

NAHLN Lab Director Feature:
Dr. Yugendar “Reddy” Bommineni Director, Bronson Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Kissimmee, FL  

Academic/Laboratory Background:
Dr. Reddy Bommineni received both Veterinary and MS degrees from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Hyderabad, India. During the Master ’ s program, Dr. Bommineni worked on Bluetongue virus isolation, diagnosis, and vaccine development and was a poultry industry consultant for two years in India.  In 2003 Dr. Bommineni came to the United States and received a PhD from Oklahoma State University. His PhD involved Microbiology and Pathology with a dissertation on “ Chicken Cathelicidins as a Novel Antibiotics. ” After graduate school, Dr. Bommineni received postdoctoral training at Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana in anatomic pathology.  Reddy is a board certified Poultry Veterinarian (ACPV, American College of Poultry Veterinarians) and has diplomat status with the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists (ACVM) in Immunology and Virology subspecialties.  Before coming to Florida, Reddy worked as section head at the New Mexico State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Albuquerque, and as Poultry Pathologist at Virginia ’ s Harrisonburg Laboratory, both of which are NAHLN laboratories.  

Dr. Bommineni serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation (JVDI) and the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) technical committee.  His interests (apart from diagnostics) are food safety, foreign animal diseases, and veterinary biologicals.  Reddy is also a consulting veterinarian for infectious disease diagnosis and vaccine production in Southeast Asia with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to improve the economy of poultry farmers in several Southeast Asian countries.  

What brought you to the NAHLN laboratory?
“ I am a native of India, raised on a family farm that had a variety of animals including cattle, sheep, goats, and chickens.  My interest in becoming a veterinarian emanated from my love for animals and my observation of the devastating Rinderpest disease in India.  When I was growing up, I noticed severe bovine mortalities and vultures flying around the village.  Curious of what was causing this, I asked my grandfather about it and was told that “ If you see too many vultures flying around the village, it is an indication of an outbreak of cattle plague. ”  This motivated me during my doctoral program at Oklahoma State University, to study laboratory diagnostic medicine. ”  

How long have you been Director?
“ I have been Director for almost two years at the Bronson Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory located in Kissimmee, Florida. ”  

Is there anything unique in your career that you’d like to share?
“ I have worked with several different species of animals, including primates, throughout my career.  I enjoy the variety and like to discover new ways to do things.  For several years, I have worked with the USAID program in Bangladesh, Nepal, and in Southeast Asia.  Visiting other countries ’ laboratories under the USAID program, I have been fortunate to learn novel approaches to disease diagnoses, providing me an opportunity of seeing several foreign animal diseases I might not have been exposed to otherwise. Through various broad spectrum roles and a diverse background, I have had the opportunity to serve our animal industry and our country as both a veterinarian and a diagnostician. ”  

Do you have any hobbies that you’d like to share?
“ I like to read and study about history, ancient civilizations, and the development of human intelligence.  I also enjoy playing cricket, travelling, and exploring new places. ”  

Why is NAHLN important to you?
“ NAHLN is important because “ it is a true success story and great national resource ” involving federal and state partners protecting our food supply and promoting public health.  I believe the value of animal disease diagnostic laboratories and their role in the day-to-day monitoring of reportable and economically devastating animal and zoonotic diseases, including the protection and monitoring of the public food supply, is extremely important.  NAHLN laboratories support not only animal health but play a significant role in “ One Health. ”   NAHLN's organization, standardization, coordination, and support for animal disease laboratory operations greatly enhances preparedness in protecting animal health.  I am appreciative to NAHLN for providing regional QMS training to laboratories. ”  

Welcome to the NAHLN, Dr. Yugendar “Reddy” Bommineni!

Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS STAS NVSL, Ames, IA.   Photo provided by Dr. Yugendar “Reddy” Bommineni.
NAHLN Controlled & Uncontrolled Document Q&A
A process for distributing controlled copies of NAHLN related documents was implemented in 2007 to ensure that NAHLN Laboratories have the current version of applicable standard operating procedures.  Documents are uploaded to the APHIS Laboratory Portal (ALP) (formerly known as the NAHLN Portal) SOP - My Library page.  Questions concerning the process are answered below.  Please let the NAHLN Program Office know if you have additional questions.     

Which NVSL Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are distributed to the NAHLN Laboratories in a Controlled Copy format?
NVSL reference laboratories identify all SOPs, work instructions, references, and forms that NAHLN Labs need to conduct an assay under the NAHLN scope.  The NAHLN Program Office provides electronic, “ controlled ” copy versions of SOPs, work instructions and references and uncontrolled forms on the ALP SOP - My Library page.  

What is the official notice of a new document?
A courtesy email is sent after new documents have been uploaded to the Portal for distribution.  The appearance of any new document(s) on your Portal SOPs My Library page is an “ official “ notice.  It is the responsibility of NAHLN lab personnel to review the APHIS Laboratory Portal Library My SOP page, acknowledge and download new documents listed and track the receipt within your labs.  

Who receives that courtesy email notification? 
The courtesy email is sent from the ALP Portal to the NAHLN Laboratory Director, Interim and/or Associate Director, the Quality Manager, and NAHLN Primary Contact Person.  Each NAHLN Lab is responsible for keeping their contact section of the Portal up to date so communications from the NAHLN Program Office are sent to the correct contacts.   

Why the email is sent to so many NAHLN Lab contacts?
The NAHLN Laboratory Director is responsible for receiving the “ controlled ” documents; however he/she may delegate the responsibility to another person for ensuring that tracking and training is completed on the “ controlled ” copy documents found on the ALP SOP - My Library page.  With this in mind, we send announcement emails to the NAHLN Lab Director, Associate Director, Interim Director, Quality Manager, and NAHLN Primary Contact. We expect that if someone else in your lab is delegated to perform the functions described above, a member of this group will notify them.  Allowing multiple people in the lab access to the documents also improves the timeliness of both entering documents into your quality management system and beginning training on the documents.   

What are the expectations for the NAHLN labs after receiving a courtesy email or noticing a new document in their ALP SOP-My Library?
The NAHLN lab needs to acknowledge receipt of each document, then download and enter into your quality management system.  Then each NAHLN lab must complete training on the new document(s).  This process should be outlined in your Quality Manual and/or internal processes.   

Why would a NAHLN lab need to track the Controlled documents outside of the ALP SOP-My Library?
The SOP - My Library page is only used as a secure mechanism to deliver documents to NAHLN labs.  Therefore, this page can only track that a person from your lab has acknowledged receiving the document.  It is your responsibility as a NAHLN lab to ensure this document is distributed to everyone who needs a copy, and then to incorporate it as a controlled document into your own quality management system.  

How is the Portal SOP library set up?
The SOPs My Library page has three columns.  On the left side, the current testing documents will show up under each disease.  Any document pending a proficiency test will show up in the middle column and administrative documents are located in the column on the right.  

Why might a document be listed twice on the SOP My Library page?
A document may be used for multiple diseases, so it will be listed under each disease for which it is required. It ’ s important to acknowledge all documents listed on the Portal, but keep in mind that you ’ re not expected to download or enter duplicate copies into your Quality Management system.  Here are some examples to help illustrate this:
  • One lab may see multiple copies of a document because it is required for more than one disease.  A second lab may only be approved to test for one of the diseases covered by the document.  Therefore the second lab will only see one copy of the document.
  • A document that applies to multiple diseases only needs to be downloaded only once as long as you understand the document is required for all identified diseases. 


How can I tell if I'm looking at a Controlled Copy SOP? 
A NAHLN controlled copy will have a blue watermark in the margin.  The text will be similar to “ Controlled copy (insert type of document) provided to approved labs on the portal. ”  The NVSL Quality Management team compiles a list of approved NVSL SOPs for NAHLN and Program Diseases .   Contact information for documents listed on a page is included in the footer of that page.  Check each page footer for contact information for documents on that page.
  • Direct any NAHLN document inquiries to the NAHLN Inbox (NAHLN@aphis.usda.gov). 
  • Direct any Program Disease document questions (e.g. Johne’s Disease, EIA, CEM, Piroplasmosis) to the NVSL Quality Management team (nvsl.mastercontrol@usda.gov) 


What is the nomenclature of the NVSL Quality Documents?

The type of document is identified in the document number:  
  Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS STAS NVSL, Ames, IA.
Round up:
The current number of NAHLN laboratories at each level in 2017 is as follows:
    • 14 Level 1 laboratories (6 branch labs)
    • 28 Level 2 laboratories (2 branch labs)
    • 8 Level 3 laboratories
    • 1 affiliate laboratory
    • 0 Specialty laboratories

The start of the three-year terms for the NAHLN Coordinating Council transitioned this year from beginning in January to beginning in June.  This better aligns with the timelines dictated by the new structure of the Network.  

To ease the transition, the new Council members were invited to join the current Council for a face to face meeting May 9-10th in Ames, IA.  The Council members reviewed the decision matrix used during the yearly self-assessment, and provided input on category, criteria weighting and relative weighting descriptions.  This will add clarity to the national needs identified by Veterinary Services and feedback from NAHLN labs.  An update to the decision matrix will be released in the coming months.

Welcome to the new members of the Coordinating Council:

AAVLD NAHLN Laboratory Level 1:
  • Dr. Pam Hullinger –California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory
    • Dr. Rachel Reams –Michigan State University, Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health
      AAVLD NAHLN Laboratory Level 2:
      • Dr. Keith Bailey –Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory 
      State Animal Health Official: 
      • Dr. Mary Jane Lis –Connecticut
      • Dr. Boyd Parr – South Carolina

        Thank you to the members rotating off the Coordinating Council:

        AVLD NAHLN Laboratory Level 1
        • Dr. Timothy Baszler –Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory
        • Dr. Stephanie Rossow – University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
        AAVLD NAHLN Laboratory Level 2:
        • Dr. Deepanker Tewari – Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory
        State Animal Health Official:
        • Dr. Robert Cobb - Georgia
        • Dr. Keith Roehr - Colorado
        NAHLN Facts

        The following link show a map and laboratory list of laboratories that have been approved as part of the NAHLN Testing Network.
        Acronym Key