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

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System (PADLS) at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center offers comprehensive veterinary diagnostic services in the areas of pathology, microbiology, molecular diagnostics, and toxicology, as fully accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) and a first-tier laboratory member of the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN). Safeguarding the animals and citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania against threats to animal health and food safety, the laboratory serves as a critical Eastern United States resource, 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. We will use our laboratory’s veterinary diagnostic experience, expertise, and infrastructure to accomplish the work described for this project. In addition to addressing the need for added laboratory capacity in the event of a large-scale outbreak or incident involving animal food, 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 Pennsylvania and the surrounding region through federal, state, and local collaborations. Some analyses are 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 adheres to AAVLD’s “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 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.