Public Health

ACLA remains actively involved with public health issues. Bioterrorism (including the attacks in New York on 9/11, and the use of anthrax as a biological weapon), and emerging infectious disease threats (e.g. SARS, West Nile Virus, H1N1) resulted in ACLA meeting with HHS the CDC.  The purpose of those meetings was to discuss how ACLA might better collaborate with public health efforts by contributing ACLA expertise and resources when appropriate and needed.  ACLA has also offered to provide clinical laboratory assistance in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Hanna, Gustof and others. 

CDC Collaboration

ACLA continues in active discussions with CDC on a number of fronts.  Issues related to a National Laboratory System and identification, reporting, and development of validation assays for new agents, such as H1N1, are under discussion.  The offer of hurricane assistance was positively received by CDC.  Following an ACLA led conference call with CDC and a number of laboratory associations, CDC asked ACLA to coordinate the gathering of information about the specimen transport and supply distribution network capabilities of ACLA member companies in the affected areas in case there is a need to move specimens or other supplies to impacted testing sites demonstrating the extensive and well developed specimen transport and supply distribution networks ACLA members maintain in the impacted areas. Also provided was emergency contact information from each lab operating in those areas. In addition, ACLA facilitated communication between CDC and AdvaMed to address the reagent shortage.

Institute of Medicine Invites Comment from ACLA on Emergency Preparedness

ACLA, presented on September 23rd 2008 to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee tasked to explore the Effectiveness of National Biosurveillance Systems in the event of biological terrorism or other biothreats to human health.  The presentation stressed the complementary roles of the clinical and public health labs and noted the recent progress in better understanding and forging agreements between the two lab sectors in emergency preparedness.  Details were given elaborating on the specific areas of clinical laboratory contributions in testing and logistics assistance as well as specific clinical laboratory considerations in advance of a threat.