Bioterrorism/Special Pathogens Program

Who we are

The Alaska State Public Health Laboratory-Anchorage (ASPHL) performs rapid and conventional detection and confirmatory methods for biothreat agents of concern on clinical (human and animal), environmental, and food specimens. We serve as the primary Reference Laboratory for the Laboratory Response Network, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

What we do

The Alaska State Public Health Laboratory (ASPHL) has implemented a Statewide Laboratory Response Plan that outlines collaboration among clinical Sentinel Laboratories, non-clinical laboratories, and field screening laboratories to ensure timely detection and identification of biothreat agents in Alaska. ASPHL supports these laboratories by offering training, resources, and information.

In partnership with the CDC and the Association of Public Health Laboratories, the American Society for Microbiology has developed protocols to help clinical laboratories rule out or refer specimens of microorganisms suspected as bioterrorism agents. The Sentinel Level Clinical Microbiology Laboratory Guidelines provide standardized methods for microbiologists to identify critical agents and forward specimens to Laboratory Response Network (LRN) reference laboratories for confirmation.

Resources