PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
The LRN:
Positioned to Respond to the Next Threat
By Jennifer Diethelm, MPH, specialist, Laboratory Response Network
The LRN is the nation’s laboratory emergency
response system for biological, chemical
and radiological threats and for other public
emergencies such as natural disasters.
Established by APHL, the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to
improve US readiness for all-hazards threats,
the LRN remains a valuable resource for public
health laboratories and officials as well as law
enforcement. Members of the LRN include:
• local, state and federal public health
laboratories
• clinical, agricultural, environmental and
veterinary laboratories
• military and international laboratory
centers.
Erin Swaney explains the flowchart for sample inactivation during a training for biothreat team members Wanda Songy, Garrick
Gillispie and Mark Mergen
The Laboratory Response Network (LRN)
has repeatedly proven its ability to
respond to diverse threats, beginning with
the 2001 anthrax attacks and continuing
through H1N1 influenza, Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Ebola and
Zika. Simultaneously, the LRN’s chemical
threats preparedness component has
taken on public health responses to
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), toxic
metal exposures and the ongoing opioid
crisis.
Although the LRN and its resources
have been used primarily in the United
States, the flexibility of the LRN model
offers untapped potential to scale
response capabilities to support smaller,
more remote jurisdictions or larger
international entities. The LRN provides:
• Secure modes of communication
• Electronic data exchange
• Methodology development
• Technology transfer
• Workforce training and development
• Rapid assay deployment
• Robust proficiency testing programs.
In addition, the LRN model offers
laboratories subject matter expertise,
training models, emergency operations
center procedures, data exchange and
other resources to optimize their response
capacity. Laboratories can also benefit by
engaging the LRN in strategic discussions
to ensure that existing resources can be
utilized to better prepare for and respond
to emerging threats.
No matter the threat, the highly
successful LRN stands ready to
assist laboratories in developing and
maintaining their response capacity
and capability. n
The new assays and training
provided by the LRN protect public
health by deploying new technologies
at labs throughout the US to respond
to and stay ahead of emerging
threats. The foresight to standardize
reagents across the network is
invaluable for public health.”
Erin Swaney, Microbiologist, Texas Department
of State Health Services Laboratory
26 LAB MATTERS Spring 2020
PublicHealthLabs
@APHL APHL.org