From ASF to COVID: How NAHLN Protects Animal Agriculture

The U.S. livestock and food sectors account for more than $150 billion in annual cash receipts. It's no wonder threats of foreign and emerging animal disease outbreaks are increasingly making headlines these days.

Since 2002, the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), created through the cooperation of the USDA-APHIS Veterinary Service, USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) has been helping protect these agricultural assets.

NAHLN, a network of federal, state and university-associated veterinary diagnostic laboratories that provide ongoing disease surveillance, responds quickly to disease events; communicates diagnostic outcomes to decision makers; and has the capability and capacity to meet diagnostic needs during animal disease outbreaks, NIFA wrote in its latest update.

Since it started, NAHLN has grown from 12 AAVLD laboratories to 60 AAVLD laboratories throughout the U.S. capable of testing large numbers of samples for specific disease agents.