NCVDLS report : veterinary news and information from North Carolina's Diagnostic Laboratories [2006 : spring]

sNCVDLS REP®RT Accredited by the American Association of veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians Spring 2006 Veterinary News and Information From North Carolina's Diagnostic Laboratories From The Director by David T. Marshall, DVM ith another quarter comes another busy period in the evolution of the NCVDL system. We continue to make strides through the dedicated efforts of our talented staff, as well as equal parts of old fashioned hard work and support from our clientele. All of our exploits are being accomplished in an environment of increased responsibility secondary only to the avian flu issue. I continue to be amazed at the key role that our services provide to the viability of live¬ stock and poultry industries, along with the general public, through surveillance for diseases of public health significance. The NCVDLS will continue to ardently accept that charge as long as there is need for our services. North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Steve Troxler, Commissioner |n This Issue- Client Corner . 3 Employee of the Quarter.. 1 4 Departmental News . 14 Disease Trends . 7 Interesting Cases . 1 1 Veterinary Staff. . 15 Г oints of Interest... Arsenic Toxicosis Avian Flu Canine Hepatitis New Submittal Forms Avian influenza (AI) continues to be a major issue with direct laboratory impact. The increasing spread of the H5N1 virus across Asia and Europe, coupled with the intense media attention, has increased submissions of dead and diseased poultry. In addition, we have conducted over 206,000 AI agar gel immunodiffusion tests dur¬ ing the past 12 months on individual commercial poultry serum samples as part of a surveillance program that is as robust as any in the country. Many of those samples were tested at Rose Hill, Elkin, and Monroe facilities, each of which is located in heavy poultry production areas of the state. Additionally, we have the PCR and vi¬ ral isolation capability at Rollins, as well as our poultry pathologist. Dr. Tahseen Aziz, to complete a strong array of surveillance and response qualifications. In the coming months we will continue to build capability through the implementation of AI ELISA technology. As of March, our laboratory in Rose Hill became the final facility to become fully functional with our new Laboratory Infonnation Management System (LIMS). This milestone culminates a three year long project of replacing our antiquated DOS based system with more modern technology. Clients now have the ability to track and receive test results online through password protected web access. For more information, please visit the "How to Request Access to Online Test Results” link at the top of our NCVDLS home page (Kvww.ncvdl.coml). The inclusion of this feature is a valuable service to our clients, and I encourage routine users of our laboratory system to take advantage of it. One of the major issues of attention over the past six months has been on upgrad¬ ing overall laboratory safety. Our recently created Safety Officer position has paid great dividends with the employment of Kathy Schmidt. Kathy came to us with ex¬ tensive experience in the Quality Assurance and Safety arenas bolstered by fonner 2>- E. coli in Calves C. burnetii (Q Fever) Coggins Biopsy Techniques NCVDLS-Rollins Lab 1031 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1031 Phone: (919) 733-3986 Fax: (919)733-0454 Web silc:|" u u .ncull.ainT| Please e-mail NCVDL@ncmail.nel with any comments and/or sug¬ gestions concerning The NCVDLS Report Holiday Closings... Good Friday-April 14 Memorial Day-May 29 Our laboratories will be closed on the above listed days.