Those of you that actually read these posts know that we run Arizona’s benchmark public health laboratory. But many of you might not know that we also license and inspect clinical and environmental labs in AZ and even some in other parts of the country through our Clinical and Environmental Laboratory Licensing and Compliance programs. [...]
Our State Lab performed chemical and biological surveillance testing on food samples from the Republican National Convention. We were selected to participate in the testing because of our reputation and previous experience working with the Food Safety Inspection Service for the detection of biological and chemical agents in food. The samples arrived at the State Laboratory [...]
During the 2009- 2010 influenza pandemic, we saw how influenza can be unpredictable in terms of who it affects most, when it occurs, and what strains will circulate. This season is no exception. While the circulating strains are exactly what we had predicted, the peak of the flu season is hitting later than usual… and [...]
It took longer than usual- but Influenza is finally circulating in AZ- and we’ve moved to the “Regional” flu category now (Regional is sort of the middle of the scale). The circulating strains in AZ (confirmed by our lab) are covered by this year’s vaccine- mostly our old friend the 2009 H1N1 virus and the familiar H3N2 [...]
New testing equipment at the state lab is going to help us with flu tracking this fall and dramatically speed up testing for Tuberculosis. The instrument called the Gene Xpert looks for DNA mutations – we can tell if a TB case is resistant to certain antibiotics. For instance, on specific mutation is a marker for rifampin [...]
A couple of years ago (when the financial crisis was just starting), we brainstormed about how we could bring down the utility bills in our State Laboratory. The Lab has always been electricity intensive, partly because of the workplace safety requirements etc. (e.g. the “hoods”) require more air exchange than a normal building. That means constantly [...]
We’ve got a lot to be proud of over the last year and an half. It’s been hard, I know because of all of the budget reductions and the lower staffing level. On the other hand, we’ve got an incredible mission and we’re doing a good job. I often tell people that we work in [...]
