AAVLD
The American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) is a not-for-profit professional organization which seeks to:
- Disseminate information relating to the diagnosis of animal diseases.
- Coordinate diagnostic activities of regulatory, research and service laboratories.
- Establish uniform diagnostic techniques.
- Improve existing diagnostic techniques.
- Develop new diagnostic techniques.
- Establish accepted guidelines for the improvement of diagnostic laboratory organizations relative to personnel qualifications and facilities through a comprehensive laboratory accreditation process.
- Act as a consultant to the United States Animal Health Association on uniform diagnostic criteria involved in regulatory animal disease programs.
NAHLN
The NAHLN is a cooperative effort between two USDA agencies—the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA; formerly CSREES) —and the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD). It is a multifaceted network comprised of sets of laboratories that focus on different diseases, using common testing methods and software platforms to process diagnostic requests and share information.
In 2009, the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
became a full member of the NAHLN. In this role, our laboratory is an essential hub of this important network which adds much-needed reserve capacity to our federal veterinary diagnostic laboratory capability, primarily in the detection and control of foreign animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease, Classical Swine Fever, and Avian Influenza.