Public health laboratory

Public Health Laboratories operate as a first line of defense to protect the public against diseases and other health hazards. Working in collaboration with other arms of the nation’s public health system, public health laboratories provide diagnostic testing, disease surveillance, applied research, laboratory training and other essential services to the communities they serve. Public health laboratory scientists are highly educated specialists with knowledge of one or more scientific disciplines, advanced skills in laboratory practice and the ability to apply this expertise to the solution of complex problems affecting human health.

Every US state and territory, as well as the District of Columbia, has a central public health laboratory that performs testing and other laboratory services on behalf of the entire jurisdiction. In addition, most states have local public health laboratories, ranging in size from large metropolitan laboratories with hundreds of scientists to small rural laboratories with one or two staff, that support local public health activities like sexually transmitted disease control and lead abatement.

State and large local public health laboratories frequently perform tests that are unavailable elsewhere. At the state level, public health laboratories help formulate public policies, develop new methods to detect and combat infectious disease, regulate private medical laboratories and perform other essential services to protect residents’ health and well-being.

Core Functions of Public Health Laboratories

Disease Prevention, Control and Surveillance

Integrated Data Management

Reference and Specialized Testing

Environmental Health and Protection

Food Safety

Laboratory Improvement and Regulation

Policy Development

Emergency Response

Public Health Related Research

Training and Education

Partnerships and Communication

Public Health Laboratory Services

Screen 97% of babies born in the United States for metabolic and genetic disorders.

Monitor communities for pathogens that spread in food or through contact with people or animals.

Perform almost all testing to detect and monitor newly emerging infectious diseases like West Nile virus, SARS and Avian Influenza.

Test drinking and some recreational water for bacteria, parasites, pesticides and other harmful substances.

Identify suspect agents, as in 2001 when public health laboratories tested over 1,200 specimens a day during the 2001 anthrax attacks, ultimately conducting over one million laboratory analyses.

International accreditation

In 2007, Haim Hacham "et al." published a paper addressing the need for and the process of international standardised accreditation for laboratory proficiency in Israel. Their practice is an invaluable experience for all in the sector cite journal
last = Hacham
first = Haim "et al."
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Unification of the quality assurance systems of public health laboratories conformed to ISO 17025, ISO 15189, and ISO 9000: a major organizational change
journal = Accreditation and Quality Assurance: Journal for Quality, Comparability and Reliability in Chemical Measurement
volume = 12
issue = 8
pages = 409–413
publisher = Elsevier
date = 2007
url =
doi = 10.1007/s00769-007-0262-9
accessdate = 18 March
accessyear = 2008 ] . With the similar efforts, both the Japan Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment (JAB) and the European Communities Confederation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EC4) have validated and convened ISO 15189, respectively cite journal
author=Aoyagi T, Kawai T |title= [Validation of the ISO 15189 trial assessment results of clinical laboratories--effects of accreditation and interpretation of ISO 15189] |language=Japanese |journal=Rinsho Byori |volume=54 |issue=5 |pages=486–93 |year=2006 |month=May |pmid=16789419 |doi= |url=] ^, cite journal
author=Huisman W, Horvath AR, Burnett D, "et al" |title=Accreditation of medical laboratories in the European Union |journal=Clin. Chem. Lab. Med. |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=268–75 |year=2007 |pmid=17311523 |doi=10.1515/CCLM.2007.037
url = http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/cclm/abstract.00115728-200745020-00029.htm;jsessionid=Hfhpgx1565JBs7Lhlc12PLyGtpdLRYGNCwtQLRsprvzw6dySs8Rs!592949099!181195629!8091!-1] . However, Spitzenberger and Edelhäuser have expressed their concerns in that ISO accreditation may include obstacles rising from new emerging medical devices and the new approach of assessment, indicating the time dependence of the standards cite journal
author = Spitzenberger F, Edelhäuser R
title = Accreditation of Medical Laboratories in Europe: Statutory Framework, Current Situation and Perspectives
journal = Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy
volume = 33
issue = 5
pages = 384–92
publisher = S. Karger AG
date = 2006
url =
doi = 10.1159/000094738 ] .

References & Notes

See also

* Association of Public Health Laboratories
* ISO 9000
* ISO 15189
* ISO/IEC 17025
* Laboratories
* Public health

External links

* [http://www.aphl.org Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)]
* [http://www.labsarevital.com/ Labs Are Vital]
* [http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehsphl/PHL/default.htm Public Health Laboratories, WA State Dept. of Health]