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PROVIDES LABORATORY SERVICES FOR SPECIALIZED HEALTH DEPARTMENT PROGRAMS:
Lyme disease testing, serology for Coccidioides immitis, flow cytometry for monitoring CD4 cell levels in HIV infected patients are examples of how public health laboratories have responded to the particular needs of the local population served.
INFORMATION AND CONSULTATION TO PRIVATE LABORATORIES AND THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY:
In addition to providing direct reference laboratory testing such as syphilis confirmatory testing to blood banks, and TB identification and drug testing to hospital laboratories, public health laboratories provide training and consultation to the local health community.
PROVIDES LABORATORY SERVICES NOT OTHERWISE AVAILABLE:
Providing laboratory services not available locally has long been the history and continues to be a dynamic role played by the public health laboratory. Viral testing services were introduced throughout the State in the 1970's by local public health laboratories with great assistance from the State laboratory. Slowly, hospital and other clinical laboratories have taken on these services in urban areas as the need for such is strongly identified by the medical community. Testing for HIV is the most recent example wherein the local laboratories brought this service on board amidst an environment of fear and anxiety of this yet incompletely understood disease. However, local public health departments identified a priority to test at risk individuals for HIV; local public health laboratories responded many inaugurating the testing the month after the testing reagents became available through a joint government/commercial venture. Rabies testing is yet another example of a specialized test so necessary in this State which reports over 500 rabid animals per year.
