The role of veterinary diagnostic laboratories during COVID-19 response in the United States

Robust testing capacity was necessary for public health agencies to respond to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. As the nation faced the need for robust testing capacity, it became necessary to use all possible resourc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2024-06, Vol.19 (6), p.e0303019
Main Authors: Clements, Nia, Diel, Diego G, Elvinger, François, Koretzky, Gary, Siler, Julie, Warnick, Lorin D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Animal populations
Animals
China
Collaboration
Consent
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - diagnosis
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 Testing - methods
Diagnostic systems
Diagnostic tests
Disease
Epidemics
Health promotion
Humans
Interviews
Laboratories
Medicaid
Medical diagnosis
Medicare
Pandemics
Polls & surveys
Population studies
Public Health
Robustness
SARS-CoV-2 - isolation & purification
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
United States - epidemiology
Viral diseases
Zoonoses
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Robust testing capacity was necessary for public health agencies to respond to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. As the nation faced the need for robust testing capacity, it became necessary to use all possible resources. In many cases, veterinary diagnostic laboratories rose to meet this demand because these facilities routinely perform high throughput diagnostic testing of large animal populations and are typically familiar with pathogens of high pandemic concern. In this study, we evaluated the impact of veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the United States on SARS-CoV-2 testing. Results of surveys, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of publicly available information showed that veterinary diagnostic laboratories had a substantial impact on human health through population-level testing in the COVID-19 response, supporting timely and informed public health interventions. This success was not without significant hurdles, as many participating veterinary diagnostic laboratories experienced restriction in their response due to difficulties obtaining the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certification required to conduct human diagnostic testing. Our results point out the importance of reducing hurdles before the next major public health emergency to enhance access to testing resources overall and to ultimately improve population health.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0303019