{"id":47773,"date":"2003-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2003-05-05T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2003\/05\/05\/nebraska-public-health-laboratory-now-1-of-23-u-s-labs-certified-to-test-for-smallpox-virus-locally-enables-faster-results\/"},"modified":"2022-08-29T10:44:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-29T15:44:44","slug":"nebraska-public-health-laboratory-now-1-of-23-u-s-labs-certified-to-test-for-smallpox-virus-locally-enables-faster-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2003\/05\/05\/nebraska-public-health-laboratory-now-1-of-23-u-s-labs-certified-to-test-for-smallpox-virus-locally-enables-faster-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska Public Health Laboratory now 1 of 23 U.S.\n\nlabs certified to test for smallpox virus locally; enables faster results"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nebraska Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) is one of 23 laboratories<\/p>\n

in the country that recently received certification by the U.S. Centers<\/p>\n

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta to conduct tests for<\/p>\n

the smallpox virus. The certification means the labs have met the CDCs<\/p>\n

national criteria of bio-safety, bio-security and expertise, and can provide<\/p>\n

same day results instead of sending out a specimen and getting results<\/p>\n

about two days later.<\/p>\n

Labs previously sent samples to the CDC in Atlanta. The addition of<\/p>\n

smallpox testing capability at the NPHL brings to 11 the number of agents<\/p>\n

the lab can identify. The agents are those identified by the CDC as high<\/p>\n

priority in bioterrorism preparedness.<\/p>\n

“Nebraska strives to be a leader in bioterrorism preparedness in all<\/p>\n

aspects, said Joann Schaefer M.D., deputy chief medical officer, Nebraska<\/p>\n

Health and Human Services System. We believe preparedness is the best<\/p>\n

deterrent to someone who would plan on using a bioterror agent. We also<\/p>\n

believe Nebraskans feel more secure about their safety knowing public officials<\/p>\n

are prepared.<\/p>\n

Tony Sambol, coordinator of the special pathogens and bio-security laboratory<\/p>\n

sections of the NPHL located at UNMC, said specialists in the lab recently<\/p>\n

received certification, reagents and test kits in order to test for the<\/p>\n

smallpox virus.<\/p>\n

This is a continuation of technology transfer from the CDC to state<\/p>\n

public health labs, he said.<\/p>\n

Of the 110 labs in the CDCs nationwide Laboratory Response Network,<\/p>\n

30 applied to be part of a multi-site study to test the validity of the<\/p>\n

smallpox kits, of which 23 met the criteria and now are certified to test<\/p>\n

for smallpox virus, Sambol said.<\/p>\n

The capability to provide fast and reliable tests is enhanced by the<\/p>\n

Roche Molecular Biochemical LightCycler equipment that allows pathologists<\/p>\n

and microbiologists to get results of laboratory tests in a fraction of<\/p>\n

the time. The technology is an application of biology and engineering and<\/p>\n

was purchased after September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 through a grant<\/p>\n

from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

Its been tremendous. Weve been able to test for quite a number of<\/p>\n

these agents for bioterrorism and get same day results. Its important<\/p>\n

for patient treatment, saving lives and deciding whether or not there is<\/p>\n

a need to quarantine, Sambol said.<\/p>\n

 He said the NPHL also will soon receive kits from the CDC that<\/p>\n

will enable it to test for the much publicized disease called SARS or Severe<\/p>\n

Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The only lab currently that can confirm patient<\/p>\n

test results for suspected SARS is the CDC. Like smallpox testing, we<\/p>\n

will be able to test for the SARS virus in our bio-safety level 3 lab in<\/p>\n

a fraction of the time it takes to send the specimen to the CDC.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nebraska Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) is one of 23 laboratories in the country that recently received certification by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta to conduct tests for the smallpox virus. The certification means the labs have met the CDCs national criteria of bio-safety, bio-security and expertise, and can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","department-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nNebraska Public Health Laboratory now 1 of 23 U.S. labs certified to test for smallpox virus locally; enables faster results<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Nebraska Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) is one of 23 laboratories in the country that recently received certification by the U.S. Centers for Disease\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2003\/05\/05\/nebraska-public-health-laboratory-now-1-of-23-u-s-labs-certified-to-test-for-smallpox-virus-locally-enables-faster-results\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nebraska Public Health Laboratory now 1 of 23 U.S. labs certified to test for smallpox virus locally; 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