Public health laboratory

Public Health Laboratories operate as a first line of defense to protect the public against diseases and other health hazards. Working in collaboration with other arms of the nation’s public health system, public health laboratories provide diagnostic testing, disease surveillance, applied research, laboratory training and other essential services to the communities they serve. Public health laboratory scientists are highly educated specialists with knowledge of one or more scientific disciplines, advanced skills in laboratory practice and the ability to apply this expertise to the solution of complex problems affecting human health.

Every US state and territory, as well as the District of Columbia, has a central public health laboratory that performs testing and other laboratory services on behalf of the entire jurisdiction. In addition, most states have local public health laboratories, ranging in size from large metropolitan laboratories with hundreds of scientists to small rural laboratories with one or two staff, that support local public health activities like sexually transmitted disease control and lead abatement.

State and large local public health laboratories frequently perform tests that are unavailable elsewhere. At the state level, public health laboratories help formulate public policies, develop new methods to detect and combat infectious disease, regulate private medical laboratories and perform other essential services to protect residents’ health and well-being.

Core Functions of Public Health Laboratories
Disease Prevention, Control and Surveillance Integrated Data Management Reference and Specialized Testing Environmental Health and Protection Food Safety Laboratory Improvement and Regulation Policy Development Emergency Response Public Health Related Research Training and Education Partnerships and Communication

Public Health Laboratory Services
Screen 97% of babies born in the United States for metabolic and genetic disorders. Monitor communities for pathogens that spread in food or through contact with people or animals. Perform almost all testing to detect and monitor newly emerging infectious diseases like West Nile virus, SARS and Avian Influenza. Test drinking and some recreational water for bacteria, parasites, pesticides and other harmful substances. Identify suspect agents, as in 2001 when public health laboratories tested over 1,200 specimens a day during the 2001 anthrax attacks, ultimately conducting over one million laboratory analyses.