Microbiology testing support for VetLIRN

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Abstract The California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS), within the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California – Davis, is uniquely qualified to participate in a cooperative agreement with the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN.) We are the reference diagnostic facility for the California Department of Food Agriculture as well as an integral component of the veterinary college. We have faculty with a vast array of expertise in infectious disease, zoonotic infection, and food safety diagnostics and interventions. CAHFS faculty and staff perform over 8700 necropsies and 526,000 diagnostic tests per year. In addition to being a Tier 1 facility in the federal Select Agent program, CAHFS participates in several partnerships focused on emergency detection and response, including the Food Emergency Response Network, the CDC Laboratory Response Network, and the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. As an accredited member of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD), CAHFS adheres to rigorous standards and strict performance monitoring required for certification by this organization. The Bacteriology Section at CAHFS utilizes both classical and molecular techniques to provide rapid and accurate pathogen identification for our stakeholders. Disease detection and infectious agent confirmation are critical components of our diagnostic mission. Additionally, our section performs pathogen testing of foods for human consumption and technicians are familiar with FDA BAM testing methodologies. Extension and validation of these procedures to animal food and feed products are additional requirements of our diagnostic mission. All of these competences align with the Vet-LIRN mission of expanding FDA's oversight of and testing capabilities for veterinary diagnostic samples, leading to an enhanced response to animal food/drug adulteration or contamination. CAHFS participation in this cooperative agreement relationship will allow the lab to maintain capability and capacity to respond to Vet-LIRN when diagnostic testing is needed and to strengthen FDA's food protection systems.