Lab Matters Spring 2019 | Page 3

LAB MATTERS COLUMNS 2 3 President’s Message Executive Director’s Message SPRING 2019 | CONTENTS 21 APHL Publishes Guide to Lab Facility Construction, Renovation Infectious Diseases 22 Boots on the Ground: A Lab Perspective on Hepatitis A Virus Outbreak Response SECTIONS Environmental Health 24 Looking for Legionella 10 A Non-Conventional Matrix: Potential Use of Dried Blood Spots for Biomonitoring 26 MeVA Assay Aids Public Health Labs in Fight Against Measles Food Safety Informatics 12 Detecting Cyclospora in Food: FDA’s Success with a New Method during Outbreaks 27 APHL Makes Progress on Electronic Lab Reporting for Animal Rabies Industry Matters Public Health Preparedness and Response 14 Addressing Punch Conservation with Digital Microfluidics 28 Ensuring Readiness for Rabies in Puerto Rico From the Bench 15 Rhode Island Leverages Agency Partnerships to Identify Contaminated Leachate Quality Systems 16 Pacific Rim Regional Network Meets, Establishes Strategic Priorities Global Health 17 APHL Closes Productive Decade of Work in Sierra Leone 18 Sierra Leone’s Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Strengthens with Microbiology and Bacteriology Lab Activations 20 APHL Builds TB Testing Capacity in Sierra Leone 21 Developing Laboratory Leaders: APHL Joins with Global Partners to Address a Growing Need 29 Public Health System Recovery in Full Swing: Hurricane Response in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands 30 The Future of Biosafety and Biosecurity in the Public Health Laboratory 32 Celebrating 20 Years of the Laboratory Response Network: Partnering in Preparedness and Response 33 Using MicrobeNet to Enhance Biothreat Agent Detection Membership 34 The Laboratory District: Protecting the Nation’s Capital Fellows 36 Fellowship Programs Prepare for Incoming Fellows and Celebrate Successes of Past Fellows APHL LAB MATTERS STAFF APHL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gynene Sullivan, MA, CAPM, editor Joanne Bartkus, PhD, D(ABMM), president Karen Klinedinst, art director Grace E. Kubin, PhD, president-elect Jody DeVoll, MAT, advisor 4 FEATURE The Promise and Challenge of Newborn Screening in 2019 NBS is a public health success story, ongoing for 56 years. On the one hand, new treatment and laboratory testing options open up the possibility of expanded screening panels. On the other hand, testing laboratories and follow-up providers are generally under-resourced and straining to keep pace with growing workloads. But scientists are working diligently to improve the accuracy and precision of existing tests and to bring on new disorders, even as they continue the high- stakes work of screening tens of thousands of infants a year. Bill Whitmar, MS, secretary-treasurer To submit an article for consideration, contact Gynene Sullivan, editor, at [email protected]. The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works to strengthen laboratory systems serving the public’s health in the US and globally. APHL’s member laboratories protect the public’s health by monitoring and detecting infectious and foodborne diseases, environmental contaminants, terrorist agents, genetic disorders in newborns and other diverse health threats. Richard S. Steece, PhD, D(ABMM), member-at-large Denise Marie Toney, PhD, HCLD(ABB), member-at-large Maria Lucia Ishida, PhD, associate institutional member representative Tamara Theisen, MT(ASCP), local institutional member representative Mark Wade, local institutional member representative 8515 Georgia Avenue, Suite 700 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.aphl.org Ewa King, PhD, immediate past president Scott J. Becker, MS, ex officio, executive director, APHL PublicHealthLabs @APHL APHL.org Spring 2019 LAB MATTERS 1