Office of Laboratory Services

The Office of Laboratory Services supports West Virginia’s preparedness and response efforts through two primary components: the Bioterrorism Response Laboratory and the Chemical Terrorism Response Laboratory.

Bioterrorism Response Capabilities
Established as part of a national public health network developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Threat Preparedness-Bioterrorism Response Laboratory focuses on disease surveillance and rapid diagnosis of potential bioterrorism agents.
The Laboratory Response Network (LRN) functions on a three-tiered system:
  -Sentinel Level: Clinical laboratories in hospitals and clinics that screen and rule out suspect agents.
  -Reference Level: Facilities with specialized protocols to identify threat agents in environmental specimens and confirm clinical samples. 
  -National Level: High-level specialized agency facilities.
The West Virginia Office of Laboratory Services serves as the Reference Level Laboratory for Bacillus anthracis, Yersinia pestis, Francisella tularensis, and Brucella spp. 

Note: The Bioterrorism Response Laboratory does not accept specimens directly from the general public. Suspicious items should be reported to local law enforcement or the local health department.


Chemical Terrorism Response Capabilities (LRN-C)
Created by the CDC in 2003, the LRN-C is a 62-laboratory network designed to manage chemical threats across three responsibility levels. All network laboratories are certified to package and ship patient specimens to the CDC or assigned network facilities within 24 hours.
  -Level One: Ten large-scale facilities capable of developing new methodologies and testing at least 1,000 samples weekly during an emergency.
  -Level Two: Facilities equipped to analyze patient specimens and identify nine types of chemical warfare agents, with a capacity of up to 250 samples weekly.
  -Level Three: Facilities located in critical or low-population areas certified specifically for specimen packaging and shipping.
West Virginia Office of Laboratory Services operates as a Level Two laboratory.

Additionally, the Office of Laboratory Services is a member of the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), which integrates local, state, and federal laboratories to respond to biological, chemical, or radiological contamination in food.

For more information contact West Virginia Office of Laboratory Services: