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FOOD SAFETY
CaliciNet Outbreak Support Centers Provide a Laboratory Safety Net
By Rhodel Bradshaw, senior specialist, Food Safety
A net is only as strong as its knots. For more than a decade, CaliciNet has been that net, connecting public health laboratories across the United States to detect and track norovirus outbreaks. The outbreak support centers( OSCs) have served as the knots in that network, ensuring that states with limited capacity were not left without support.
Norovirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis outbreaks in the US, responsible for thousands of illnesses each year. While some public health laboratories face staffing and resource limitations that influence their participation in CaliciNet, others have made thoughtful decisions to partner with regional OSCs. This approach allows states with lower testing volumes to maximize efficiency and ensure highquality norovirus testing through shared regional expertise. The program was established to close that gap, providing surge capacity, sequencing support and timely outbreak data so that national surveillance remains strong.
From the beginning, APHL has played a central role in developing and sustaining the OSC model. In addition to managing contracts with the OSC sites, APHL maintains regular communication with OSCs and the sites they support, ensuring issues are addressed quickly and that results were routinely represented in CaliciNet. This collaboration became especially critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, when routine surveillance suffered as resources shifted to the emergency response.
Over the past decade, four state laboratories partnered with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention( CDC) as OSCs, each carrying responsibility for their own state while also supporting a region.
● The California Department of Public Health, Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory supported Arizona, Utah and Washington, providing surge testing during busy outbreak seasons.
● The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene supported Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, helping Midwestern states identify outbreaks that might otherwise have gone untyped.
● The Tennessee State Public Health Laboratory processed an average of 30 out-of-state requests annually for Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, serving as a backbone for the South.
● The New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, supported Maine, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia, and helped identify the GII. 17 Kawasaki strain during the 2015 – 2016 season— an emerging norovirus that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
CDC also filled in coverage gaps by supporting additional states, including Connecticut, Illinois, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Together, these partnerships ensured that national surveillance was not limited by geography or individual laboratory capacity.
The OSC program has supported the detection of more than 115 outbreaks, expanding the reach of CaliciNet and preventing many cases from going undetected. The OSC model has shown how collaboration strengthens outbreak detection. What might have appeared as isolated cases in one county often proved to be part of a larger outbreak once OSC laboratories sequenced specimens and shared results through CaliciNet. By connecting results across jurisdictions, the network gave health departments invaluable information to act quickly and decisively.
Looking ahead, the need for this collaborative model continues to grow. Norovirus remains a major cause of outbreaks each year, and as molecular detection tools advance, laboratories will need expanded sequencing capacity, stronger bioinformatics pipelines and the next generation of trained laboratorians. The OSC experience demonstrates that when state laboratories, APHL and CDC work together, national resilience is strengthened.
Ten years in, the OSC program’ s success is measured not only by outbreaks detected but also by the system of support it built. California, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Wadsworth Center strengthened national resilience through regional partnerships. With APHL and CDC’ s guidance, the OSCs ensured consistent data for CaliciNet and provided coverage for states without capacity. Together, they formed a network that held firm, safeguarding critical surveillance. g
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Another student remarked that small changes to laboratory techniques, such as using electrical tape to seal off Marinelli containers, have been implemented to prevent spilling and improve sample handling.
Another student commented that the program allowed them to see how other laboratories run the same methods, and the small differences in how these methods are run. Because of this, their laboratory is now considering trying the Flexible Collodion and Isoamyl Acetate film for microdeposition.
But perhaps the most important change made in these laboratories is increased ability of the scientists themselves. Several students commented that completing this program has given them the knowledge and confidence to improve their laboratory processes, take on new, complex methods and teach what they have learned to other colleagues. They were also able to network and build relationships with radiochemists from 11 other state laboratories, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of how they operate and protect public health. g
18 LAB MATTERS Winter 2025 PublicHealthLabs @ APHL. org
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