from the bench
Alaska Puts NGS into Action for Canine
Parvovirus Outbreak
By Kim Krisberg, writer
In Alaska, dog-powered transportation
is both a necessity of life and a major
economic driver. Sporting events like
the world-famous Iditarod can pump
millions into the local economy. So when
an outbreak of highly contagious canine
parvovirus made headlines in 2016 —
just weeks before the Iditarod race set
off in early March — it was a big deal. kennel of almost 20 dogs and her kids are
junior mushers. After hearing concerns
that the 2016 outbreak could be due to a
particularly virulent strain of parvovirus,
Parker thought it was an ideal opportunity
to help out the local community and
test a promising new technology
inside the public health laboratory:
next generation sequencing (NGS).
The news piqued Jayme Parker’s interest
both personally and professionally.
Parker, MSPH, MB(ASCP), virology lab
manager at the Alaska State Virology
Laboratory in Fairbanks, has been active
in the mushing community for nearly
two decades — her family has its own “People were really worried because
so many dogs were dying,” Parker said.
“We thought if we could sequence
as much of the genome as possible,
it could help alleviate any concerns
that this was a novel strain. Or maybe
discover that it was after all.”
Of course, the Alaska State Virology Lab
doesn’t typically provide animal disease
testing unless it’s associated with human
exposures, such as rabies testing. In
fact, testing for canine parvovirus is
completely out of the ordinary for the
lab — “it’s out of our wheelhouse, for
sure,” Parker noted. Still, said Jack Chen,
PhD, MB(ASCP), the lab’s deputy director,
answering questions surrounding the
parvovirus outbreak would be an ideal
opportunity to explore the technology’s
capacity to impact human health as
well. With funding support from the
University of Alaska-Fairbanks, where the
lab is physically housed, the scientists
received specimens collected in two
Jayme Parker leads her team along a backcountry trail. Photo: Mike Parker
10
LAB MATTERS Winter 2018
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