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SURVEY OF U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES: DETECTION OF MICROBIAL PATHOGENS ON THE CANDIDATE CONTAMINANT LIST
Impact/Purpose:
State Public Health Laboratories analyze human specimens for some candidate contaminant list (CCL) pathogens and may be useful as future active laboratory-based surveillance sites. Increased use of molecular techniques may increase detection of some CCL pathogens.
Description:
During 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) of drinking water contaminants. The magnitude of the effect of CCL pathogens on the public health is unknown. A survey of reference laboratories provides information about current requests for analysis of human clinical specimens. Methods: State public health laboratories (SPHLs) were surveyed; representatives were asked to report the number of human specimens received, the number in which evidence of infection with a CCL pathogen was verified, and analytic methods used during fiscal year 1999. Results: Ninety-four percent of SPHLs participated. The number of specimens, percent positivity, and analytic methods varied by CCL pathogen and SPHL. The use of polymerase chain reaction for detection of calicivirus yielded 40% positivity, compared to less than 5% for other pathogens. Conclusions: SPHLs analyze human specimens for some CCL pathogens and may be useful as future active laboratory-based surveillance sites; increased use of molecular techniques may increase detection of some CCL pathogens.