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The NAHLN Update 2023
Volume 14, No. 1
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THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH LABORATORY NETWORK (NAHLN)
A STATE AND FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP TO SAFEGUARD ANIMAL HEALTH
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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
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Evaluate preparedness (identify and prioritize gaps) through scenario testing
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In This Issue:
Recurring call schedule
NAHLN Vision
Highlights from NAHLN HPAI Response
2020-2023 Farm Bill Update
ASF Preparedness
Laboratory Spotlight 1
Getting to Know Us
Laboratory Spotlight 2
APHIS Laboratory Portal
Round-up
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Recurring call schedule:
NAHLN Coordinating Council (CC) calls occur on the third Monday of each month.
NAHLN Methods Technical Working Group (MTWG) Core group calls occur on the second Wednesday of each month.
NAHLN Exercises and Drills Working Group (EDWG) calls occur on the fourth Wednesday of each month. People interested in serving on this group should email the NAHLN Program Office by clicking here.
NAHLN IT committee Core group calls occur on the first Wednesday of each month, except for months with quarterly NAHLN IT general membership calls (March, June, September, and December). People interested in attending the general call can do so by selecting the personnel contact options of IT General committee member in the APHIS Laboratory Portal.
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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@usda.gov.
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“A culture of accountability makes a good organization great and great organization unstoppable.” – Henry Evans
“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” - Josiah Stamp
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NAHLN Vision:
The National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN): a network of animal disease diagnostic laboratories that works effectively as a team, provides ongoing disease surveillance, responds quickly to disease events, communicates diagnostic outcomes to decision makers in a timely manner, and has the capability and capacity to meet diagnostic needs during animal disease outbreaks.
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Highlights from NAHLN highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) Response | |
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February 8, 2022, marked the beginning of the largest animal disease outbreak in U.S. history, thus laying the groundwork for the largest outbreak response in the 20-year history of the NAHLN. The true power of the NAHLN lies in the 63 member laboratories who can act synergistically to decrease response times and increase capacity across the network. The ongoing HPAI outbreak has provided numerous opportunities for the network to rely on those shared capabilities, and we would like to highlight a few of those successes.
Late September 2022 saw a ballooning number of confirmed premises within the Sanpete Valley of central Utah. Due to the density of turkeys in this region, the testing demand for new investigations, surveillance, and movement rapidly increased and was set to outpace the capacity of the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. In coordination with the NPO, the Colorado State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (CSU), state animal health officials, and the federal incident management team who were on the ground in Sanpete County, samples were prioritized, and designated sample types were shipped to CSU for testing in order to maintain reasonable expectations for both laboratories. Field staff and producers were appreciative of the effort made by all parties to maintain expected turnaround times and allow continuity of business when possible.
The proximity of poultry-heavy regions in Tennessee to the Kentucky border led to overlapping control areas and surveillance zones on more than one occasion. This also meant that many poultry premises located in the state of TN were actually closer to the Breathitt Veterinary Center in Hopkinsville, KY, than they were to the Kord Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory in Nashville, TN. Coordination between these two laboratories and the state animal health officials assured the quickest sample delivery to the nearest lab and the shortest turnaround time for those results. This ensured nearly real-time decision-making ability for those on the ground and continued livelihood for uninfected producers.
Virginia had been a part of this outbreak since nearly the beginning, but when the first commercial poultry premises tested non-negative at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), Harrisonburg Regional Laboratory in mid-January 2023, they knew things were different. This premises was located within the extremely poultry-dense Shenandoah Valley, and the demand for surveillance and movement testing was going to be the greatest they had seen. They also realized they did not have enough brain-heart infusion broth on hand for all of the producers who were going to need it within those first few days. A quick call to the Moorefield Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory in West Virginia, one of the last 3 remaining unaffected states for domestic poultry detections, assured the problem was quickly solved as they allowed VDACS to borrow some BHI that very day until VDACS was able to receive a replacement stock by week’s end from NVSL and to restock the WV lab as well. All of this in addition to the fact that Dr. Jessica Walters personally escorted their state’s index case by flying them to Ames and hand delivering them to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) Diagnostic Virology Laboratory (DVL).
As this outbreak continues to develop, and we all brace for the uptick of detections expected with the spring migration, remember that you are never alone as part of the NAHLN. The NPO is only an email or phone call away as are your fellow network partners. We look forward to featuring more examples of successful collaboration in upcoming NAHLN newsletters; and, as always, we are grateful for your continued efforts in support of the NAHLN, your state, and the poultry industry.
Article submitted by Kelli Almes, DVM, DACVP, Associate Coordinator, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL.
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2022-2023 NAHLN Farm Bill Update and Incorporation of Farm Bill Deliverables into the NAHLN
In June 2022, APHIS announced it was making $2.25 million available in funds for the NAHLN competitive process, which was the fourth cycle of the NAHLN Farm Bill. This year’s funding priorities targeted projects that enhanced local stockpile and capacity maintenance by ensuring that labs have reagents, assays, and supplies on hand for immediate use; helped with IT standardization by developing applications and enhancing systems already in place; focused on high-capacity diagnostic equipment by allowing labs to purchase new equipment and develop new workflows in light of increased sample volumes; and expanded technical expertise with the addition of technical personnel. Projects were also prioritized for those that either impacted the entire NAHLN network, or those that had immediate benefit to multiple NAHLN laboratories.
The NAHLN received 28 proposals by the submission deadline of October 1, 2022, requesting a total of $6,462,150. Of these, 14 proposals have been approved for total funding at $2,290,992. Two proposals focused on enhancing capacity maintenance, two will improve IT standardization, seven focused on developing specific diagnostic abilities for use across the network, and three will expand technical expertise across the network. These projects are expected to begin in Quarter 3 of FY2023.
The NPO has recently developed a process for identifying deliverables from this and past years’ funded Farm Bill projects that are ready to be deployed to the NAHLN. To assist with this, the NAHLN MTWG has formed a sub-committee with representatives from several NAHLN laboratories, the NVSL-DVL and Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, and the NAHLN Program Office. This sub-committee is charged with reviewing the deliverables from each of the NAHLN Farm Bill’s funded projects since the first cycle (2018-2019) and recommending those that are ready for immediate deployment to other laboratories in the NAHLN. This sub-committee will also assist with recommendations on how all deliverables from these projects may be deployed to the NAHLN, including recommendations for additional validation work or modifications needed prior to deployment across the network.
The committee has begun with deliverables from the initial 2018-2019 Farm Bill cycle and is scheduled to provide their review to the NAHLN Coordinating Council prior to the Council’s annual meeting later this year. This process will continue annually through the remaining four cycles of Farm Bill Funding associated with the 2018 Farm Bill appropriations.
Article submitted by Beth Harris, Associate Coordinator, NAHLN Program Office USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL, Ames, IA
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African Swine Fever (ASF) Preparedness | |
The persistent threat of ASF looms heavily over the United States, and the recent Hispaniola outbreak heightens the risk of ASF introduction. To combat this risk, APHIS has longstanding safeguards in place to prevent ASF entry, establishment, and spread. These safeguards include import restrictions, diagnostics, surveillance, and targeted response strategies. Moreover, APHIS has taken several critical steps in support of these response strategies to enhance U.S. swine industry security in the event of an ASF outbreak: the preparation of an ASF declaration of extraordinary emergency, implementation of a national movement standstill, ASF protection zone, amplified targeted surveillance for domestic and feral swine, and continued exploration of the most effective methods for swine depopulation and disposal.
An ASF outbreak in the United States will have devastating economic consequences for the swine industry, such as production and trade losses estimated to cost several billion dollars. Therefore, we continue to work closely with state and industry representatives to identify ASF-associated vulnerabilities upon disease introduction. APHIS staff are collaborating with stakeholders to mitigate the identified issues and better position us to provide a robust and effective response toward disease eradication.
The NAHLN is vital to our overall ASF testing response and continuously shows its value as exemplified by the HPAI outbreak. NAHLN has focused on improving our ASF testing response; however, additional program activities could significantly improve readiness. Increased diagnostic testing capacity relies on receiving and accessioning samples as efficiently as possible, having an adequate amount of personnel and equipment to perform the testing, and having an adequate number of laboratories to meet the testing needs. An effective laboratory response focuses mainly on NAHLN laboratory capacity and dataflow coordination between submitters and labs.
Currently, the NPO has approved 50 out of 63 NAHLN laboratories to conduct ASF testing with 339 proficiency tested analysts and a capacity of 86,000 PCR tests per day, with a pooling protocol capacity of 430,500 animals per day. The NPO is re-evaluating metrics to provide a more real-time estimate for maximum capacity and sustainability based on the number of personnel and instruments available on any given day. For each “unit”, comprised of 1 extraction instrument + 2 thermocyclers + 2 analysts, a laboratory can provide 400 PCR tests in an 8-hour shift.
Private laboratories may be needed to meet the demand for testing by producers. However, this must be controlled in some manner, as we need to ensure laboratory supplies and reagents are available for USDA program use. The Specialty Laboratory designation within the NAHLN structure would be an option to enroll these laboratories and ensure that all recognized testing is coordinated and meets acceptable quality. In addition, timely and efficient transfer of diagnostic results into Veterinary Services (VS) systems is critical. This is an opportunity that should be explored, and challenges and potential mitigations identified. EMRS is a vital tool that VS uses to manage data in an outbreak. While valuable, additional support to encourage states to enroll premises to further enhance integration with the laboratories is needed.
Article submitted by Christina M. Loiacono, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Coordinator, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL.
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Laboratory Spotlight: Arkansas Department of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Main Lab: Arkansas Department of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
Branch Lab: University of Arkansas System - Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
- Lab director: Randle (Randy) W. Moore, D.V.M., Ph.D., D.A.C.P.V.
- Quality Manager: Amy Chapman
The Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission (ALPC) Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) was established in 1963. In 2005, ALPC was brought under the newly created Arkansas Department of Agriculture; and in 2017 the Transformation Act led to the consolidation of the VDL with all department laboratories under a shared services model.
The ALPC VDL joined NAHLN in 2005.
What are your three biggest accomplishments as a diagnostic lab?
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Establishment of a branch lab was a tremendous accomplishment on the part of the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture Tollett VDL in Fayetteville, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture VDL in Little Rock, and NAHLN. The branch status of the Fayetteville lab, which remains administratively and financially independent of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, rests solely on a shared quality management system. Setting up a branch lab in the middle of Arkansas’s poultry production region during the largest avian influenza outbreak in history will safeguard our nation’s food supply for years to come.
- According to the 2018 USDA Census of Aquaculture, Arkansas leads the nation in both baitfish ($22.1M) and sport fish ($13.7M) annual production. Addition of an aquaculture service area to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture VDL supports disease freedom claims for movement of farmed fish. Establishment of this entirely new service area in six months required the hiring of lab staff, remodeling of lab space, and addition of four NAHLN diseases and two APHIS diseases to our approved scope of testing – all during the Covid-19 pandemic. This past testing season, we tested over 22,000 fish from 37 Arkansas farms and 27 out-of-state farms.
- Initiation of ELISA screening for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in wild cervids required a fundamental re-configuration of several sections of our lab, but it marked the beginning of this capability within the State of Arkansas. Numerous discussions with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding through which we contribute to the testing needs of this important wildlife disease management program.
What do you believe your biggest benefit to NAHLN is or will be?
- “We are happy to play a role in safeguarding our nation’s food animal production. We are a small lab but maintain numerous state and federal partnerships for regulatory testing as well as lending diagnostic support to companion animal medicine.”
Lab Background: What is your lab’s specialty, area of focus?
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“In addition to our NAHLN certification, we are a Vet-LIRN lab and a National Poultry Improvement Plan lab. Our largest case load flows through serology, and our largest staff concentration is in molecular diagnostics.”
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Total number of staff?
· Main = 30
· Branch = 7
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Number of staff dedicated to NAHLN activities?
· Main = 8
· Branch = 3
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Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL. | |
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Getting to Know Us –
Kristen Boucher, NAHLN Management and Program Analyst
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Dr. Boucher (pronounced Boo-shay) was previously an Army officer, but her federal civilian career began three years ago. Dr. Boucher started with the USDA in December 2022.
Dr. Boucher went to Syracuse University (SU) where she obtained a B.S. degree in Biology. Dr. Boucher went on to earn her Doctor of Chiropractic degree at D’Youville University in Buffalo, NY. After discharge from the Army, Dr. Boucher decided to go back to her undergraduate alma mater where she received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from SU’s Whitman School of Business. Dr. Boucher will also complete a Master of Science (MS) in Program Evaluation and Data Analytics from Arizona State University in the near future. While in the MBA program, Dr. Boucher was afforded the opportunity to complete her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification through the Project Management Institute as well as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
Dr. Boucher was a practicing chiropractor for a couple of years in upstate New York before joining the Army. Dr. Boucher worked as an associate in an established office, then she opened her own practice where her focus was on nutrition and treating athletes. Dr. Boucher was the team chiropractor for a local lacrosse team. During her time in the Army, Dr. Boucher was a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Officer. Dr. Boucher spent time in operations and logistics and as a platoon leader. She was a certified Hazardous Materials Technician performing decontamination and reconnaissance. After the Army, Dr. Boucher went back into chiropractic practice for a few years. Dr. Boucher then received an offer to be the Resource Manager for a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) brigade on Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA. Dr. Boucher took this opportunity to leave the chiropractic realm and enter federal civilian service. Dr. Boucher handled the brigade’s budget, government purchase card program, government travel cards, and other logistical matters. Dr. Boucher then received a promotion to become the administrator for the Department of Behavioral Health at Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart, GA. Much of her work involved solving various human resources problems for employees, the hiring process, and data analysis and process improvement. After just one short year, Dr. Boucher received another promotion and began her work with the USDA. Dr. Boucher is excited for this opportunity!
Dr. Boucher is currently compiling historical and current data for the Farm Bill in order to create an all-encompassing Farm Bill report for the four cycles since its initiation. Going forward, a similar template will be used to report on future cycles of the Farm Bill. In addition, she is creating individual annual reports for each of the NAHLN labs for the end of the fiscal year. Dr. Boucher is also helping to manage the quality assurance of ASF/classical swine fever testing data.
Before working at your current position, what was the most unusual or interesting job you had?
“What started off as a hobby turned into a full-scale business. After learning to homebrew beer and rapidly advancing our methods, my husband and I decided to open a local nano-brewery which we operated for three years. He lobbied to get the laws and ordinances in the county and city changed so that we could become the first alcohol producing facility in the county’s history. I managed the back end of the brewery, handling all the paperwork, monthly, quarterly, and yearly taxes, finances/budget, managing projects, and ordering. We won multiple county and state awards and were featured in various publications and even a television show.”
“We recently decided to expand our family and focus more on family time, so we sold the brewery at the end of last year. We now have a large homebrew setup in our garage and will continue brewing our award-winning beer at home!”
Are there any random facts about yourself that you could share with us? …hobbies you’d like to share with us?
“In the past I was a Firefighter/EMT and certified rope rescue technician. I also had so much fun as a radio DJ for four years. I love music and dancing and was even a ballroom dance TA in undergrad. I, along with my husband, am a certified Rescue Diver; and I love to travel out of the country for vacations and SCUBA adventures. I am a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan; I went to my first game when I was around six or seven and held season tickets when I lived in Buffalo. So far, I have named two of my dogs after Hall of Fame Bills players.”
What family information would you like to share?
“My imaginative husband, Jeremy, is a retired Army CW3. My adventurous and loving sons, Sebastian, is three years and Gabriel is 1 month. I also have a SCUBA diving stepson, Jordan, who is almost 17 and lives in Florida. “
Please share your thoughts on the NAHLN Program/ mission?
“I find it very intriguing that this network of labs exists, drawing from colleges and state organizations across the county. Besides their everyday work, each lab dedicates time to perform surveillance for NAHLN scope diseases to help keep our nation’s food supply safe. Many of the labs are conducting research to strengthen the network and to increase capability and capacity for normal surveillance and especially during outbreaks. I believe that the NAHLN program is a huge asset. “
Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL.
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Laboratory Spotlight: Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services
- Laboratory Director: Tanya LeRoith
- Quality Manager: Jennifer Rudd
The Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services was established in 1987, at the same time the Veterinary Teaching Hospital was built.
What are your three biggest accomplishments as a diagnostic lab?
- American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians accreditation as a diagnostic laboratory that started as a hospital lab
- Becoming independent of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital
- Becoming a NAHLN laboratory
Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services joined NAHLN in 2020.
What do you believe your biggest benefit to NAHLN is or will be?
“We believe in the mission of the NAHLN and have and will continue to value the opportunity to work with other diagnostic laboratories with similar priorities. We believe our benefits to NAHLN will be surge capacity in testing for the Virginia Department of Ag and Consumer Services laboratory, CWD testing for Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to alleviate strain on other laboratories that test farmed deer, and working with NAHLN in methods development.”
Lab Background: What is your lab’s specialty, area of focus?
“We were formed as a lab for the veterinary teaching hospital and as such were initially focused primarily on small animals. We have expertise in antimicrobial resistance testing and deep sequencing, for new pathogen discovery and characterization. We are willing collaborative partners with other states and university entities.”
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Number of staff dedicated to NAHLN activities?
- 7 staff and 4 faculty employees with a portion of their time dedicated to NAHLN activities.
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Photo credit: Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services (ViTALS) staff photo provided by ViTALS.
Article submitted by Traci Imlau, Program Assistant, NAHLN Program Office, USDA APHIS VS D & B, NVSL.
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APHIS Laboratory Portal (ALP) new features
Home Page
The Home page provides quick links to the following ALP pages: Lab Information, Library, and PTs/Messaging Competencies.
The Home page also has the following external links: NAHLN Program Website, NAHLN Lab Maps, and Current NAHLN SOP List.
Hot Topics
Look for current announcements on multiple topics such as trainings, exercises, and important updates to scroll across the LabDir page. Click on the scrolling topics to access additional information on each topic.
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The NAHLN Program office added four new staff members in FY 2023, one Physical Scientist and three new Management and Program Analysts.
Please welcome:
Physical scientist:
Management and Program Analysts:
- Kristen Boucher
- Robert Lynch
Click here to view the NPO organizational chart.
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Abbreviation / Acronym Key | Click Here for Volume 14, No.1 Acronym Key | |
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NAHLN Facts
The following link show a map and laboratory list of laboratories that have been approved as part of the NAHLN Testing Network.
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