John C. Simms, VMD, MS
Many livestock producers and their veterinarians have
used the Pennsylvania Laboratory System in the past, but
the new millennium has shed light on a brand new building,
new personnel, and a new system.
The Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory is
comprised of three locations that are all under the same
system. The Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory in Harris
burg (also known as Summerdale Lab, State Vet Lab, or
State Diagnostic Lab) is the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture’s portion of a three-part lab system.
The Pennsylvania State University Laboratory and the
University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center laboratory
comprise the other two-thirds of the present system.
Each location performs many routine laboratory proce
dures, but each also has a particular number of specialities
that they perform for the other labs in the system. For exam
ple, Penn State’s laboratory specializes in virus isolation.
New Bolton laboratory has a toxicology headquarters. And
the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory in Harrisburg
house many of the regulatory tests, such as Brucellosis and
C°Bgins.
All a producer or veterinarian has to do is submit a
sample or specimen to any of the three labs, and they will
m ake sure it gets to the best location for that particular test.
A courier system will even pick up samples at a veterinari
an’s office free of charge to make sure that deliveries are
•uade as quickly as possible. (Regulatory samples are ex
cluded.) Veterinarians will soon or should have already re
vived an updated version of the user’s guide with new
Procedures and fees.
Increased personnel add to the efficiency and expertise of
|h® system. At the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory in
Harrisburg, which is four years old, Dr. Graham Purchase is
References
The Pennsylvania Animal
Diagnostic Laboratory System
the resident director and has instituted many of the changes
mentioned above. Dr. Helen Acland is primarily an equine
pathologist, which is a specialty area lacking for many years
in Harrisburg. Dr. Deepanker Tewari is the new chief of mi
crobiology, while Dr. Barbara Corson is in charge of client
services. Corson can provide information on test availability
and progress of test results.
Bricks and mortar have been added to the remodeling
and updating of Penn State’s laboratory. The newly
remodeled facility will enable PADLS to more efficiently
meet the demands of the Pennsylvania animal agriculture
industry.
Program support is also supplied by the laboratory
system to help meet the need for increased testing. The new
Johne’s 30-free sample program has caused a five-fold in
crease in the Johne’s samples tested last year. Another ex
ample is the huge increase in Avian Influenza tests during
the recent outbreak in Pennsylvania.
The PADLS laboratory system is something that Pennsyl
vania producers and veterinarians can appreciate. It is ac
credited and utilized by veterinarians and producers who
will keep it in the state-of-the-art status that it enjoys today.
To contact one of the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic
Laboratory System laboratories, please use the phone num
bers below:
PADLS-Harrisburg (PADLS-PVL)
PADLS-Penn State (PADLS-PSU)
PADLS-New Bolton Center (PADLS-NBC)
Phone; 610-444-5800, ext. 2211
Phone: 717-787-8808
Phone: 814-863-0837