Lab Matters Fall 2024 | Page 116

APHL 2024 POSTER ABSTRACTS

analysis by CDC confirmed that all NmY isolates were of the same sequence type ( ST ) 1466 within clonal complex ( CC ) 174 .

Conclusions : Consistent communication and collaborative relationships between epidemiologists and laboratorians are key to ongoing surveillance and outbreak detection of meningococcal disease . Timely public health response , including administration of PEP and vaccines , is improved by laboratory detection and characterization of Neisseria meningitidis . The application of WGS enabled VDH to efficiently and rapidly classify cases as outbreakassociated using genomic results .

Presenter : Emily Craig , emily . craig @ dgs . virginia . gov the effectiveness of the APHL Academic Partnerships Program ’ s recruitment strategies in the field of public health laboratory science . The collaboration between public health laboratories , academic institutions and professional organizations will enhance workforce development . The feedback and recommendations from public health laboratory professionals engaged in outreach efforts will offer practical suggestions for further improvement . As we move forward , implementing these insights will be crucial in refining our recruitment processes and ensuring a robust and diverse pool of applicants for the future .

Presenter : Dana Powell Baker , dana . baker @ aphl . org

Recruiting Tomorrow ’ s Leaders : Highlighting the Significance of Local Outreach Initiatives through Partnerships between Public Health Laboratories and Academic Institutions

A . Handzic , L . Ghedi , Association of Public Health Laboratories Objective / Purpose :

• Discuss the effectiveness of partnerships between public health laboratories , academic institutions and affiliated professional organizations in fostering workforce development .

• Describe the impact of local outreach initiatives on recruiting students in public health laboratory science .

• Explore recommendations and advice from public health laboratory professionals who have participated in local outreach efforts .

Methods : Participants will be comprised of public health professionals , public health laboratory fellows and public health laboratory interns .

• Participating in various events such as career fairs , classroom lectures , webinars / virtual sessions , conferences and informational sessions .

• Utilizing student and alumni check-ins through platforms like Handshake and QR codes .

• Conducting focus groups involving public health laboratory professionals who have partic-ipated in local outreach efforts .

• Analyzing analytics to assess the conversion rates of applicants .

Results : Will be analyzed and compiled by April 2024 .

• Effectiveness of Outreach Methods : Evaluate the success rates of different outreach methods in attracting potential applicants .

• Conversion Rate Insights : Examine the analytics to provide insights into the conversion rates of applicants from various recruitment channels .

• Feedback and Recommendations : Gather feedback from participants and analyze their recommendations to enhance the recruitment process .

• Impact of Outreach Efforts : Assess the influence of outreach efforts on the decision-making process of applicants .

Conclusion : The comprehensive analysis of local outreach initiatives and applicant conversion rates will provide valuable insights into

Selecting a Portable Incubator to Aid Partners in Neisseria gonorrhoeae Collection for Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing

S . Budiono 1 , C . Ahrenhoerster 1 , Z . Netterfield-Amezquita 1 , K . Quigley 2 , D . Payne 1 , City of Milwaukee Health Department 1 , Wisconsin Department of Health 2

Introduction : Neisseria gonorrhoeae ( GC ) was listed as an urgent antibiotic resistance ( AR ) threat by the CDC in 2019 . Treatment options for GC are currently limited due to its ability to rapidly develop resistance to antibiotics . The Milwaukee Health Department Laboratory ( MHDL ) is a Center of Excellence for ARGC diagnosis and works to monitor for ARGC in Wisconsin . GC is challenging to culture , so methods of specimen collection and transport can greatly affect its growth . For ease of collection , MHDL provides clinical providers with Copan Eswabs which need to be returned to MHDL and inoculated onto modified Thayer Martin ( MTM ) agar within 24 hours of collection . Therefore , timely specimen transport can be difficult to arrange for faraway partnering clinics without an onsite incubator . If clinics could inoculate to a GC InTray containing MTM agar with an activatable CO2 cartridge then incubate for 24 hours onsite , MHDL would have more time to procure the specimen from the clinic . This would increase the chances of successful specimen recovery . To provide clinics with the option of culturing onsite , MHDL purchased and evaluated three different portable incubators for temperature stability , warm up time , temperature accuracy , ease of use , ability to support GC growth and size and quality of incubators . Ultimately , MHDL plans to mail incubators to partnering clinics ahead of collection to provide flexibility and increased reliability in sample recovery .

Methods : SmartSense temperature monitoring probes were placed in three incubators : Incubator A ( Boekel ), incubator B ( Cultura M ) and incubator C ( Darwin Chambers ). Temperature was monitored over various incubation times . Our required temperature range was 34 º C to 36 º C . Temperature results were evaluated alongside incubator size and quality with strong consideration given to feasibility and ease of use by clinical partners . Growth of several GC strains on GC InTrays were used for initial confirmation of successful growth .

Results : Incubator A maintains relatively stable temperature , but the door ’ s hinge is unable to stay closed consistently . Because of the unreliable door , Incubator A was removed from further evaluation . Incubator B is lightweight and has a tight seal on the door , but had poor temperature stability due to prominent cycling and internal temperature fluctuated with ambient temperature . The temperature adjustment did not allow for stable fine-tuning . Incubator C is sturdy and has a secured latch . While the external digital temperature display was not accurate , it maintained constant temperature