| Laboratory
confirmation of a specimen will be extremely important during
a real or suspected Bioterrorism event. To assure response,
the CDC and the Association of Public Health Laboratories
established the Laboratory Response Network, a multilevel
and tightly coordinated system of public health laboratories
prepared to accept samples from clinicians, law enforcement
agencies, emergency personnel, the military, and others in
the event of a possible terrorist attack. The
Laboratory Response Network exists to facilitate sample collection,
transport, testing and training for laboratory readiness for
Bioterrorism. Clinical and public health laboratories in the
network are identified by increasing levels of sophistication
ranging form Level A through Level D. Level
A
Level A laboratories are public health and hospital laboratories
with a certified biological safety cabinet as a minimum. These
laboratories have the ability to rule out specific agents
and to forward organisms or specimens to higher-level laboratories
for further testing. Level
B (Core Capacity)
Level B laboratories are state and local public health laboratories
with Biosafety Level (BSL) 2 facilities that incorporate BSL-3
practices and maintain the proficiency to adequately process
environmental samples, rune in specific agents and perform
confirmatory and antibiotic susceptibility testing. These
laboratories can identify appropriate higher-level laboratories
and can forward samples to them for further testing. Level
C
Level C Laboratories are BSL-3 facilities with the capability
to perform nucleic acid amplification, molecular typing and
toxicity testing. Level c laboratories can conduct all tests
performed in Level B laboratories and can provide surge capacity,
when needed. Additionally, these laboratories will evaluate
reagents and tests to facilitate their transfer for use in
Level B laboratories. Level
D
Level D Laboratories can conduct all test performed in Level
A, B and C laboratories. They can validate new assays, detect
genetic recombinants, provide specialized reagents, securely
bank isolates and possess BSL-3 and BSL-4 biocontainment facilities.
For Bioterrorism events affecting civilian populations, CDC
is the Level D laboratory. |
