Idaho animal health lab joins elite network

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

BOISE - Idaho's ability to do animal disease diagnostics has reached a new level.

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture in July announced its Animal Health Laboratory has been accepted as a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).

This makes it the first lab in the state to earn this designation.

According to an ISDA news release, NAHLN is a nationally coordinated system of 60 federal, state and university-affiliated laboratories that conduct early detection testing, enabling rapid response and aiding recovery from high-consequence animal diseases.

ISDA Director Chanel Tewalt said NAHLN laboratories are essential for disease surveillance, outbreak response and protecting the nation's food supply and public health, and being a part of the network is a major step forward for Idaho.

The NAHLN recognition is an advancement in Idaho's animal disease diagnostic capabilities, she said.

"This designation means faster answers for producers, efficient responses to disease outbreaks, and a stronger, more secure future for our agricultural industry backed by in-state expertise," Tewalt stated in the news release.

Because it's NAHLN-certified, the Idaho lab is now authorized to conduct avian influenza testing on milk samples collected in Idaho. Those samples previously had to be sent out of state.

According to the news release, ISDA plans to expand its NAHLN-authorized testing to include additional high-consequence animal diseases in the coming months. As a NAHLN member, the laboratory is also eligible for increased federal funding to support operations and further development.

ISDA's Animal Health Laboratory supports livestock producers, veterinarians, the Idaho Departments of Fish and Game and Health and Welfare, USDA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.

The new certification will benefit Idaho producers because of the rapid results they will receive, Dan Salmi, ISDA's laboratory bureau chief, told Idaho Farm Bureau Federation during a tour of the lab.

"If there was an animal disease outbreak and they need rapid diagnostics services performed on their animals, instead of them coming to us and we have to figure out a location somewhere else in the country to send these samples, our state veterinarian can just drop that sample off over in our lab and maybe that same day they'll have the answer," he said.

The lab this spring started doing some of its own testing for quagga mussels. Previously, those test samples were sent to Florida.

"It's much more efficient and timely doing all this testing in-state," Salmi said.

ISDA opened a new, state-of-the-art animal and plant health lab in 2022 that is much larger and more modern than the previous lab. At the time, ISDA officials said the new lab would enable the department to greatly expand its testing capacity if necessary.

Salmi said NAHLN certification is something ISDA has sought for about a decade but wasn't possible with the previous facility, which didn't have the proper safety infrastructure in place.

When the new facility opened, "it allowed us to get more serious about pursuing NAHLN certification," he said.

Compared to the old lab, the new one "has been such a big leap forward," said Dr. Scott Leibsle, the state veterinarian.

In particular, it has allowed for more rapid testing results, he said. "We can get answers to producers quicker ... I can't tell you how valuable that is."

For example, he said, the lab tests about 32,000 trichomoniasis (trich) samples annually for Idaho livestock producers. The new lab, and trich testing infrastructure, has resulted in a savings for producers and veterinarians of about $10 per head of cattle per trich test.

When it comes to trich testing, "Our productivity has skyrocketed," Leibsle said. "This is an increased advantage we can offer back to cattle producers in Idaho."

During the recent lab tour, Michelle Jakaitis, a bacteriologist and parasitologist, told Farm Bureau, "We're incredibly grateful for this building. It's a huge upgrade."