Lab Matters Fall 2024 | Page 52

APHL 2024 POSTER ABSTRACTS

COMMUNICATIONS , ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

APHL Committee Renews Position Statement and Receives Largest Membership Response to Date !

J . Hanratty , A . Cosser , Association of Public Health Laboratories

Association of Public Health Laboratories ( APHL ) position statements reflect the informed opinion of members on issues important to public health laboratory ( PHL ) science and practice and are the association ’ s highest level of advocacy . In fall 2023 , the APHL Public Health Preparedness and Response ( PHPR ) Committee collaborated with the APHL Public Policy Program to revise the position statement , “ The Need for Sustained Funding of Public Health Laboratories to Ensure All-Hazard Preparedness .” Revisions to this position statement were necessary to reflect the increase in funding needed by PHLs to sustain their operational readiness for all-hazard threats .

The revised position statement now titled , “ All-Hazard Preparedness and Response is Not Sustainable Without Increased Funding for Public Health Laboratories ,” was approved by the APHL Board of Directors and voting members in September 2023 and notably received APHL ’ s highest level of membership review to date , with 133 members reviewing the draft and 93 leaving comments .

The renewed APHL position statement emphasizes the importance of PHLs in emergency preparedness and response , describes current gaps impacting the ability of laboratories to prepare for and respond to all-hazard threats and explains why PHLs need increased funding to maintain current capabilities and implement advancements .

This poster will describe the APHL position statement purpose and process , discuss why this position statement was well-received by the APHL membership and highlight members ’ comments that were taken into consideration by the APHL PHPR Committee .

Presenter : Jill Sutton Hanratty , jill . sutton @ aphl . org

Strengthening Communication and Coordination for Effective Water Contamination Incident Support

P . Roumeliotis , V . Aponte-Morales , US Environmental Protection Agency

Around the nation , water utilities are seeing an increased need for emergency preparedness to all-hazards water contamination . Having a collaborative network of support can make or break a utility ’ s response to a water contamination incident . Laboratories play a key role in responding to drinking water emergencies , with effective and sustainable sampling and analysis programs critical to a successful response .

To foster a collaborative , nationwide network of laboratories to assist utilities large and small with emergency water testing , the Water Laboratory Alliance ( WLA ) was formed . Its aim is to build connections between utilities and water laboratories that can assist in chemical , biological , or radiological water testing that a utility doesn ’ t otherwise have the capacity to test . However , mutual aid of all forms can benefit from the expansive network of WLA including , emergency managers , on scene coordinators , first responders , state and local government officials and public health officials .

This poster will give an overview of EPA ’ s WLA program , including information about the benefits it brings to laboratories and other network members , available resources and technical support and how to join the network . By joining the WLA , members gain visibility and increased credibility as part of a nationwide laboratory network . Members benefit from building relationships that are essential for effective emergency response and from opportunities that identify potential improvements to their internal standard operating procedures .

In addition , this poster will showcase the free preparedness tools and trainings that the WLA has created to support overall water security , including resources on emergency response and guidance documents on analytical methods , sample handling and data reporting . We are going to showcase EPA ’ s tools and resources by using scenarios of challenges to laboratories , directly highlighting how our resources can address these issues . This includes the Water Laboratory Alliance Response Plan ( WLA- RP ), Water Contaminant Information Tool ( WCIT ), the Analytical Preparedness Full-Scale Exercise Toolkit ( AP-FSE ), the Water Contamination Incident Remediation Plan ( WaterCIRP ) and the Laboratory Compendium . WLA products also include resources and guidance documents on analytical methods , sample handling and data reporting . These tools not only increase the ability to prepare for potential contamination incidents , but also increase awareness for partnership and collaboration with all members of emergency response .

Presenter : Peter Roumeliotis , roumeliotis . peter @ epa . gov

COVID-19 AND OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES

A Curated Panel of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Control Strains for Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Proficiency Testing

H . Liu , S . Sharpe , M . Belanger , E . Kersh , M . Schmerer , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Neisseria gonorrhoeae ( NG ) is the etiological agent of gonorrhea , a widespread sexually transmitted disease of significant public health importance . Antimicrobial resistance of NG has been declared an urgent public health threat by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) as an increasing amount of NG isolates developed antimicrobial resistance to multiple drugs over the years . Surveillance of gonococcal antimicrobial susceptibility is essential to monitor trends in resistance including emerging resistance . CDC has generated panels of control isolates ; CDC makes these panels available on an ad hoc basis to public health laboratories to train staff , maintain their proficiency and perform AST quality assurance testing . We curated a collection of antimicrobial susceptibility testing ( AST ) control strains to be made available through the CDC & FDA Antimicrobial Resistance Isolate Bank ( https :// wwwn . cdc . gov / ARIsolateBank ) for requesters to use for quality control of NG AST . The NG-AST control panel is provided as frozen isolates preserved in Trypticase soy broth medium containing 20 % glycerol . The NG- AST control panel is composed of seven isolates selected based