The National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) accepts A2LA accreditation within the Veterinary Laboratory Accreditation Program as part of their approval process for animal disease surveillance and testing laboratories. The 2018 Farm Bill established the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program to boost the nation’s efforts to keep high-consequence animal diseases from entering and spreading in the United States. This program allows the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to collaborate with animal health partners throughout the nation to implement high-value projects that enhance prevention, preparedness, detection, and response to the most damaging emerging and foreign animal diseases that threaten U.S. agriculture.
The A2LA Veterinary Laboratory Accreditation Program requires the applicant CAB to adhere to the requirements applicable in A2LA R101 – General Requirements Accreditation for Conformity Assessment Bodies and A2LA normative documents R103, R105, and P102.
The goal of A2LA’s Veterinary Laboratory Accreditation Program is to promote the health of both privately- and commercially-owned animals through the accreditation of veterinary and animal diagnostic testing laboratories.
This program was developed to evaluate diagnostic and clinical veterinary laboratories that conduct commercial, government, academic, and international veterinary testing in areas including but not limited to:
- Infectious disease diagnostics
- Disease surveillance
- Virology
- Pathology
- Microbiology
- Immunology
The program also covers screening for growth promoters and drug/chemical residue in the following domains:
- Antibiotics
- Antihelmethetics
- Pesticides
- Metals
- Organics
- DNA/RNA
- GMO
This specialty program is covered by the A2LA chemical and biological fields of testing.
Program Requirements
- ISO/IEC 17025 General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories
- A2LA R216 – Specific Requirements – NAHLN Veterinary Diagnostic Accreditation Program
- NAHLN Quality Standard – Harmonization of AAVLD and ISO 17025:2017
Two Paths to Quality: Strengthening NAHLN Through Independent Third-Party Accreditation
NAHLN have two primary accreditation pathways; AAVLD accreditation or ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation through an independent third-party accreditation body, such as American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA). Both pathways are designed to provide confidence that a laboratory has a functioning quality system and is technically competent to produce reliable results. There also happens to be a lot of overlap between both pathways. AAVLD requirements are closely aligned with ISO/IEC 17025, so moving from one system to the other does not mean starting from scratch. The main differences are who performs the assessment, how the accreditation is structured, and how broadly the accreditation is recognized.
Learn more about the programs, where they overlap, and the key differences.