Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Update

The NAHLN Program Office (NPO) is proud to share that transitioning the AMR pilot project into a permanent monitoring program has been accepted as an APHIS priority goal and has also been listed as a goal in the USDA FY22-26 Strategic Plan! This will establish a surveillance program to monitor AMR profiles in pathogens from both livestock and companion animals, to help identify new or emerging AMR profiles, and help monitor continued usefulness of antimicrobials over time. Additional information on the NAHLN AMR program can be found here.

_____________________________________________________

Coordinating Council

The American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) and National Assembly of State Animal Health Officials (NASAHO) are seeking nominations to serve on the Coordinating Council.

The 4-year term begins September 1 of each year.

The Coordinating Council activities include but are not limited to:

Review and comment on:

• NAHLN goals, strategic plan, and operational objectives.
• Specific criteria that define NAHLN Laboratory levels and network structure.
• Progam or operational issues relevant to the NAHLN’s efforts to enhance the Network’s effectiveness.

Discuss NAHLN policies that are not subject to the statutory authority of the Federal or State governments.

______________________________________________________

2020 Farm Bill Showcase

The 2020 NAHLN Farm Bill showcase is tentatively scheduled for November 2022. The showcase will include updates from 30 approved projects. 

Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL.

Dr. Muzafar Makhdoomi joined NVSL as the FADDL Associate Director in February 2022.

Dr. Makhdoomi is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. Prior to joining FADDL, he served at the Texas Animal Health Commission as Regional Director where he led several disease programs, including the cattle fever tick eradication program and foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak investigations along the Texas-Mexico border. He has been actively collaborating with the local, State, and Federal agencies to mitigate FAD incursions into the United States.

He is involved in scholarly activities in diagnostic medicine and continues to serve as an adjunct clinical assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the School of Medicine, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Dr. Makhdoomi is a recipient of globally recognized awards and certifications including the Chancellor’s International Scholarship at the University of Warwick; Warwick Monash Alliance Seed Fund to investigate the genetic diversity among Dichelobacter nodosus strains at the University of Monash in Melbourne Australia; a Gold Medal for his master’s degree thesis in Veterinary Microbiology & Immunology; and the Society of General Microbiology President's Fund, among several others.

Dr. Makhdoomi pursued a master’s degree in Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology and developed a vaccine for foot rot in sheep. He has an additional master’s degree in veterinary preventive medicine from the University of California, Davis. He pursued his PhD and postdoctoral fellowship in the United Kingdom at the University of Warwick. His research was focused on development of molecular diagnostics, genomics, molecular epidemiology, and prevention and control of infectious diseases including ovine foot rot, bovine tuberculosis, and canine leishmaniasis.

Following Dr. Makhdoomi’s doctoral degree, he pursued his residency in livestock herd health and reproduction at the University of California, Davis. During his residency, he gained expertise in population medicine, veterinary epidemiology, disease surveillance and monitoring, and management of infectious diseases at an individual and a herd level. Dr. Makhdoomi has a diverse clinical and research background working with infectious diseases of livestock and foreign animal diseases at the national and global levels.

“I am honored to be selected as FADDL’s Associate Director. This role is a unique opportunity to lead and represent the Gold Standard Reference laboratory nationally and globally, foster its growth, and support its critical mission of protecting the U.S. livestock from foreign animal diseases and transboundary diseases”.

 “I am looking forward to working with a talented group of veterinarians, diagnosticians, scientists, and technical staff. With my background and a strong belief in teamwork, I am dedicated to offer my support to my team to ensure progress and continued growth. My goal is to strive for excellence and promote development of a team of dedicated individuals committed to safety, excellence and innovation”.

Outside of work he enjoys playing cricket and racquetball, photography, and fishing. His favorite sports team is the Los Angeles Rams.

Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL.

Laboratory Director, Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services (ViTALS), Blacksburg, Virginia

Dr. LeRoith graduated with an Animal Science degree from the University of Maryland (1994). She then received her DVM from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine (VMCVM) at Virginia Tech in 1999. Dr. LeRoith became interested in transboundary diseases early in her veterinary career and was fortunate to be able to spend a clinical rotation at FADDL on Plum Island. After graduation Dr. LeRoith moved to Pullman, WA for a combined PhD and anatomic pathology residency program. Her first introduction to the NAHLN was through her PhD advisor, Dr. Terry McElwain. Dr. LeRoith received her PhD in 2005 and then returned to VMCVM for her first and current faculty position. Dr. LeRoith became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in 2006. When she began her faculty position, the diagnostic lab at VMCVM primarily served the VMCVM Veterinary Teaching Hospital. In 2011, a decision was made to begin to separate laboratory from the hospital and become accredited by AAVLD. In 2012, Dr. LeRoith became the first Lab Director, and the lab was named Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services (ViTALS).

ViTALS joined the NAHLN in 2020. Although not initially a NAHLN laboratory, Kevin Lahmers (Associate Laboratory Director) and Dr. LeRoith recognized the need to support the Virginia Department of Agriculture laboratory in high consequence disease testing. They felt that their lab had the expertise in place to provide diagnostic support, which led them to apply to become a NAHLN lab.

Why is NAHLN important to you?

“NAHLN provides the infrastructure support to be able to respond to disease outbreaks in a coordinated way. This support is critical for laboratories to be able to assist state and federal officials in protecting animal health.”

Before working at your current position, what was the most unusual or interesting job you had?

“I took a “gap” year between high school and college, and worked at an eventing barn in Hout Bay, South Africa. While maybe not unusual, the location allowed me to see parts of the country that I had never seen before and make lifelong friends and connections.”

Dr. LeRoith is an amateur photographer (currently specializing in youth baseball), and she supports her eating habit by running, cycling, and skiing. Dr. LeRoith states, “I dabbled in triathlon in the past, but I am a terrible swimmer. I also have a 20-year-old off-the-track thoroughbred, and I find nothing more relaxing than cleaning stalls. I do my best thinking while alone in the forest on a long trail run or on a chairlift at our local ski resort.”

Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL.

Photos by Megan Quesenberry | Virginia Tech

Annual Exercise- FADI Initiation in the Laboratory

• The exercise took place the week of June 20, 2022, and followed the Quarter-2 webinar covering the same topic, on May 31, 2022. This year’s exercise was open to all ASF/CSF approved laboratories with an alternative avian exercise open for non-ASF/CSF approved laboratories. Registration for the exercise occurred through an APHIS Portal survey with multiple dates to select from. This exercise included submission of photos of mock samples along with a PDF of the VS-10-4 g (packing slip) generated from submitting through the NCAH portal (https://ncahappspub.aphis.usda.gov/NCAHPortal/public/), instead of shipping physical samples/boxes. Use of the NCAH portal was required for the exercise.

The Quarter-3 webinar is slated for September and will cover increasing laboratory capacity with additional personnel during an outbreak.

The NAHLN program office also recently sent out a survey through the APHIS Portal to assess the level of training that our NAHLN labs conduct or participate in focused on Foreign Animal Disease and Emergency Preparedness. 

Article submitted by Kelli Almes, DVM, DACVP, Associate Coordinator, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL.

Dr. Kelli Almes joined the NAHLN Program Office as an Associate Coordinator in March 2022.

Dr. Almes’ role as a NAHLN Associate Coordinator includes serving as the co-chair of the NAHLN Exercises and Drills Working Group (EDWG) and leading various internal and external regularly scheduled meetings, such as the Friday NAHLN Laboratory Response calls. Through the EDWG, Dr. Almes will oversee the EDWG annual exercise, quarterly webinars, monthly meetings, and the AAVLD/NAHLN Laboratory Emergency Management. Dr. Almes will lead various regularly scheduled internal and external meetings facilitated by the NPO. Dr. Almes also represents NAHLN on the Integrated Consortium of Laboratory Networks and the Communication Working Group of the Tactical Sciences Network.

Prior to joining Federal service with NAHLN, she was an anatomic pathologist at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Kansas State University. In this position she specialized in diagnostic service, collaborative research, and veterinary student education.  Over the last several years she also served as the Foreign Animal Disease and Outbreak Section Head for KSVDL with active participation in numerous NAHLN activities.

Dr. Almes received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a DVM from Kansas State University, where she also completed a residency in Anatomic Pathology. 

Please share your thoughts on the NAHLN Program/ mission?

“I grew up on a small family farm in KS and always aspired to attend veterinary school and become a food animal practitioner. During veterinary school I fell in love with pathology and infectious diseases, especially foreign animal disease. My previous experiences at a NAHLN member laboratory grew to include outbreak and emergency preparedness, something I soon realized I was very passionate about. The amount of collaboration and capacity that exists across this network has always been amazing to me. I feel very fortunate to be able to join the NAHLN team and have the opportunity to be a part of protecting animal agriculture, public health, and the nation’s food supply.”

 Before working at your current position, what was the most unusual or interesting job you had?

“In high school I worked for the summer at our local grocery store/locker plant and my job was to make donuts in the morning and then help process and wrap beef and pork for the rest of the day. In such a small-town, job opportunities were quite limited; and it was a very fun, yet unique summer job!”

What family information would you like to share?

Dr. Almes has been married for nearly 20 years to Ryan, who works as the Deputy Fire Chief of the Manhattan Fire Department. Kelli and Ryan have an 11-year-old son, Kendon, a daughter, Della, who is 7, and a very active dog named King Louie who is almost 3 years old. The Almes family enjoys spending time at their family farm looking for deer sheds and exploring the land. They also like to travel, especially to Colorado.

Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL, Ames, IA.

2022 marks the 20^th Anniversary of the NAHLN. NPO plans to highlight the accomplishments of the Network throughout the year.

Thank you for all NPO staff members from 2002 through 2022!

 Click Here for Volume 13, No.2 Acronym Key