Wyoming

The Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory has received full accreditation from the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD).

The laboratory is operated by the Department of Veterinary Sciences in the University of Wyoming's College of Agriculture.

"The accreditation validates the quality of services provided by the laboratory; therefore, testing from this facility is recognized internationally. The accreditation assures the public that the service it is getting for its pets, domestic livestock and wildlife is top-notch," said College of Agriculture Dean Frank Galey.

Donal O'Toole, WSVL director and veterinary sciences department head, said, "This is the fourth time in a row the laboratory passed accreditation with flying colors. It became accredited in 1989 under Dr. Lynn Woodard and has maintained full accreditation to perform tests on all mammalian species ever since."

O'Toole added, "As an aside, since I am the new president of the AAVLD, it was a matter of some concern that our small laboratory get through this accreditation process successfully. I would have hated to be president of the organization of the state veterinary laboratories and yet not pass the standards it sets for itself."

The WSVL provides a wide spectrum of veterinary testing and disease surveillance services for all species including domestic livestock and other food animals, wildlife, pets, and avian, aquatic, zoo and exotic species.

"The WSVL is unique in the large volume of wildlife samples it processes, which we do cooperatively with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's (G&F) Wildlife Disease Laboratory, with whom we share the building," O'Toole said.

Publicly funded, full-service veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the United States and Canada undergo accreditation inspections every five years. Currently, 36 states or provinces have an accredited state-funded laboratory or lab network.

"It is a matter of pride to me that our small laboratory and its great staff meet or exceed the standards that very large systems in California and New York have to meet," O'Toole said.

"Some of our neighboring states such as Utah and Idaho lack accredited laboratories, and other neighboring states have not received full accreditation. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratories is not an AAVLD-accredited laboratory," he noted.

The AAVLD recently increased the standards that had to be met, especially on the quality assurance side.

"A lot of credit goes to Dean Galey and (Vice President of Administration) Beth Hardin, as well as her predecessor Dan Baccari. They've worked hard to make sure the WSVL is well-staffed and equipped," O'Toole said. In the past five years, UW and the College of Agriculture have invested approximately $1.2 million in laboratory equipment and facilities.

The AAVLD sent three members to the WSVL in September. The team was comprised of state veterinary diagnostic laboratory directors from Indiana, Ohio and New York. They spent three days examining case reports at random; evaluating standard operating procedures, quality control, turnaround times and laboratory safety; interviewing technical and academic staff as well as clients; watching staff perform laboratory tests; and meeting with university administrators.

The single-spaced, 15-page report delivered to O'Toole in late November states that feedback from veterinary practitioners and representatives from the Wyoming Department of Health and the G&F who use the lab were "uniformly positive."

At the end of the report, the following recommendations were offered (the WSVL has five years to implement these):

--Fill the vacant pathologist and virologist positions as soon as possible;

--Pursue construction of larger biological safety laboratory facilities for "high impact" pathogens including brucellosis, plague and tularemia so they can be handled more safely;

--Relocate and renovate specimen receiving and client reception areas;

--Pursue moving four critical staff positions from grant funds to "hard" state funds;

--Develop and adhere to a defined plan to purchase and replace necessary equipment in the laboratory;

--Make a formal arrangement with a physician in the event someone in the facility is exposed to potentially harmful agents or toxins;

--Improve the physical facilities of the necropsy room including the installation of a hydraulic table and better lighting;

--Perform the streaking of primary plates in bacteriology under a biosafety cabinet on a routine basis.

"We'll seek to achieve the recommendations as soon as practical," said O'Toole, who noted that some of the recommendations will require increased funding from the state. "Some will come before the legislature in its 2006 session."

The report also contains two requirements of the WSVL including: "Structure and conduct management review," and "Adhere to the quality system incorporation timeline."

O'Toole said he needs more information from the accreditation team on these two matters before he can proceed.