NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH LABORATORY NETWORK (NAHLN)) LEVEL 1 LABORATORY: MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY – 2024

<b>Project Methods</b><br> As a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), the MSU VDL provides ongoing disease surveillance and early detection, supports rapid response and surge capacity in the case of an outbreak, communicates diagnostic outcomes to decisionmakers in a timely manner, and has the capability and capacity to meet the diagnostic needs during an outbreak. As a Level 1 Laboratory in the NAHLN, the MSU VDL will meet all key responsibilities to maintain our Level 1 designation as outlined in the 2024 Agreement for Paricipation inNAHLN as a Level 1 Laboratory, including maintenance of a quality management system and full accreditation by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) to cover the scope of NAHLN testing. The MSU VDL will continue to expand and enhance our messaging capabilities to meet the needs of the NAHLN and to promote greater efficiencies in surge capacity through developmment of online ordering for foreign animal disease testing. The MSU will maintain a cohort of proficiency tested laboratorians to support all NAHLN scope testing and will be prepared to expand that pool of individuals as needed, as the VDL did during 2022, 2023, and 2024 in response to the ongoing HPAI outbreak. At a minimum, the MSU VDL will maintain the current number of laboratorians proficiency tested to run the following assays: aviaan influenza virus, Newcastle disease virus, African swine fever virus, classical swine fever virus, foot-and-mouth disease virus, scrapie/chronic wasting disease, and Johnes' disease. We will contineu to actively participate in additional surveillance programs, including as a regional laboratory for avian influenza virus in wild bird surveillance and the NAHLN antimicrobial resistance program.The MSU VDL will follow all NAHLN protocols for sample accessioning, testing, and reporting.