

Health Indicator Report of Utah Department of Health-Public Health Laboratory Capacity

The Utah Public Health laboratory is part of a laboratory system which includes a network of independent clinical and environmental laboratories throughout the state.

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The Utah Public Health Laboratory assists with the public health laboratory testing needs for various state, clinical, environmental, and federal partners.


Not applicable.


Not applicable.

How Are We Doing?

'''Reportable Diseases:''' Capacity to rapidly identify pathogens causing reportable diseases. Reportable diseases are those that are considered threats to public health because they are both serious and easily spread. * Tuberculosis (smear results) in 3 days: ''Yes'' * Salmonella in 24 hours: ''Yes'' * HIV in 24 hours: ''Yes'' * Chlamydia in 24 hours: ''Yes'' * Influenza in 8 hours: ''Yes'' * Avian Influenza: ''Yes'' * West Nile Virus: ''Yes'' * Bio-Terrorism agents: 2 hours for preliminary screening*: ''Yes''[[br]] [[br]] '''State and Local Epidemiologic Investigations:''' Capacity to "type," or identify the exact disease-causing organism to support epidemiologic investigations at state and local level. Discovering the source of a particular disease requires the ability to identify the exact organism type. Identifications of the source is necessary to prevent further spread of the disease. * Salmonella: ''Yes'' * E. coli: ''Yes'' * Pertussis: ''Yes'' * TB: ''Yes'' * Meningococcus: ''Yes'' * Hemophilus species: ''Yes'' * Influenza: ''Yes''[[br]] [[br]] '''Environmental Contaminants:''' Capacity to identify environmental contaminants associated with human diseases. Environmental contaminants are a source of human diseases and problems. Once identified, some of these contaminants are easily removed from the environment, others are more difficult. * PCB: ''Yes'' * Pesticides: ''Yes'' * Nitrates in drinking water: ''Yes'' * Radon: ''No'' * Giardia in drinking water: ''No'' * Cryptosporidium in drinking water: ''No'' * Lead: ''Yes'' * Chemical agents (neurotoxins): ''Yes''[[br]] [[br]] '''Medical Examiner's Office:''' Capacity to conduct investigations to support the Medical Examiner. The Medical Examiner's Office conducts tests on violent or suspicious deaths in Utah. Drugs or alcohol are often involved in violent deaths. * Drugs: ''Yes'' * Alcohol: ''Yes''
Page Content Updated On 09/25/2015, Published on 12/14/2015
