Animal and Animal Food Diagnostic Sample Analysis in Support of FDA Vet-LIRN Activities and Investigations

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Opportunity #PAR-17-141 University of Pennsylvania – Animal and Animal Food Diagnostic Sample Analysis in Support of FDA Vet-LIRN Activities and Investigations PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System (PADLS) located at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center campus currently offers comprehensive veterinary diagnostic services in the areas of avian and mammalian pathology, microbiology, and toxicology. PADLS is fully accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) and the New Bolton Center facility is a first-tier laboratory member of the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN). In addition to safeguarding the animals and citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania against threats to animal health and food safety, the laboratory also serves as a critical regional resource throughout the Eastern United States making it an excellent fit for this Vet-LIRN project proposal. Our laboratory is experienced in the analysis of a variety of sample and matrix types, including but not limited to animal samples, environmental samples, vermin, water, animal drug products, and animal and human food products and ingredients such as grain, meat, fish, and milk. The current program will continue to benefit from our laboratory’s veterinary diagnostic experience, expertise, and infrastructure that we will use to accomplish the work described for this project. In addition to addressing the current need for added laboratory capacity in the event of a large-scale outbreak or threat incident involving animal food or drug-related illnesses or other large-scale emergency events requiring surge capacity testing, the PADLS New Bolton Center Laboratory can further strengthen the Vet-LIRN through diagnostic activities that better enable early detection of emerging events involving national food safety and security and facilitate the rapid responses that can minimize harm and best protect both human and animal health. Our laboratory provides comprehensive veterinary diagnostic services to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the surrounding region through collaborations with federal, state, and local organizations and stakeholders. Some analyses are requested as part of normal surveillance activities or routine necropsies, while others are associated with cases of excessive, unexpected, or otherwise unexplainable animal losses or illness that may potentially pose a risk to animal health and/or animal or human food safety. The laboratory is fully accredited by AAVLD and adheres to their “Requirements for an Accredited Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory”, meeting specific requirements pertaining to all aspects of the laboratory and its activities. AAVLD also requires that our laboratory has a Quality System in place that documents policies, systems, programs, and procedures. Due to the varied nature of the sample matrices we receive we are constantly improving and refining our analytical methods in order to ensure their sensitivity and specificity. We are confident in our ability to continue to support Vet-LIRN in this project due to our present qualifications and experience and a proven history of successful Vet-LIRN collaborations through both the infrastructure and method development grant programs. 1