Laboratory

At a glance

In 2024, CDC improved core laboratory capabilities critical for detection and action on high-priority pathogens.

Graphic image featuring a light blue background and circular image of a woman working in a lab. In the top left corner is the report title, 'CDC Global: A Year of Action and Impact.' The main title in the center of the image reads 'Laboratory.' The CDC logo appears in the bottom left corner.

Efficient methods

A woman in a white coat looks at chest X-rays.
CDC's global Xpert TB Proficiency Testing program now spans 1,400 testing sites in 27 countries, improving testing turnaround time from several weeks to 2 hours.

CDC transformed our global Xpert Tuberculosis (TB) Proficiency Testing program into a multi-region, sustainably funded, and locally led operation with more than 1,400 testing sites across 27 countries. This increases local laboratory capacity, speeding TB diagnosis and appropriate treatment. The program improved testing turnaround time from 3-9 weeks to around 2 hours.

Global action

CDC strengthens laboratory capacity globally, including helping more than 400 labs achieve international accreditation through the Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation program.

Disease elimination

In October 2024, WHO announced that trachoma – the world's leading infectious cause of blindness – had been eliminated as a public health problem in Vietnam. CDC scientists developed a serology (antibody) test to help countries that have eliminated trachoma as a public health concern with ongoing monitoring for the disease.

Five countries have already used the test to validate that trachoma has not come back. CDC provides scientific expertise to ensure other countries have the capabilities to control and eliminate key neglected tropical diseases as part of our role as a WHO Collaborating Center for Trachoma.

Threat containment

The war in Ukraine has stressed health systems, creating an environment where antimicrobial-resistant bacteria can thrive and quickly spread – including across borders. With technical expertise from CDC, and in collaboration with our Ukraine country office and Eastern Europe/Central Asia Regional Office, the government of Ukraine is improving rapid and accurate detection of AR threats by improving critical laboratory skills, equipment, procedures and practices. Reducing the spread of AR will protect Ukrainian civilians, soldiers, and allies in the region, and ultimately protect Americans by reducing the likelihood of further global spread.

Did you know?

CDC detects and responds to antimicrobial-resistant threats alongside partners in 50+ countries through the Global AR Lab and Response network

Cutting-edge knowledge

In March 2024, the CDC Polio Essential Facility (PEF) received an Interim Certificate for Containment from the Global Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradiation. The CDC PEF is a WHO reference laboratory that performs the largest volume of testing for the global polio eradication campaign. The CDC PEF is the sixth facility in the world to receive this certification, demonstrating the unique global status of CDC's polio laboratory and operations and the agency's leadership in the eradication of poliovirus.

Story Spotlight: Innovative "Lab Twinning" Approach Benefits U.S. and Oman

A group of individuals sitting at desks engaged in conversation with one another.
Scientists from the Central Public Health Laboratories (CPHL) team and Bioinformaticians engage in an open discussion about the objectives of the visit. Credit: Rajesh Kumar-Oman APHL

When CDC opened its Middle East/North Africa Regional Office in Oman in 2020, one of the top priorities identified by the Ministry of Health was strengthening laboratory capacity. Recently, a first-of-its-kind "lab twinning" program matched the Oman Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) with laboratories in Wyoming and Oregon, delivering benefits for both countries.

With the help of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, the program sent two groups of Omani laboratory experts to U.S. State Health Laboratories in Wyoming and Oregon. While there, they received hands-on training in advanced molecular detection, whole genome sequencing, and bioinformatic data analysis. Next, the U.S. laboratorians made three visits to Oman to help enhance analysis at CPHL using in-house generated data.

Why it matters

Lab twinning is a matchmaking process that:

  • Connects labs that have similar technologies for peer-to-peer learning
  • Strengthens capabilities that help identify and respond to outbreaks
  • Builds long-term relationships between the U.S. and other countries

U.S. laboratory experts say the twinning experience has resulted in ongoing knowledge sharing and fostered long-lasting collaboration with their counterparts in Oman.

Dr. Hanan Al Kindi, Director of the Oman CPHL, says the twinning program has had transformative impact for scaling up CPHL's next generation sequencing capabilities. In an outbreak, labs use next generation sequencing to rapidly diagnose the pathogen, track the spread and variant type, and formulate the right response. Since CPHL serves as a WHO regional reference laboratory, enhancing these capabilities helps make the whole region safer.

But, according to Dr. Josef Reed, Director of the Wyoming State Laboratory, the benefits go both ways. "The twinning program has significantly broadened Wyoming scientists' expertise," he says. "This partnership has been instrumental in advancing public health capabilities across both regions."

Did you know?

Public health laboratories with strong quality, biosafety, and biosecurity measures are the key to early detection and response to pathogen threats.

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