Key points
- ob体育 can assist public health officials with investigating unexplained respiratory disease outbreaks (URDO).
- The public should direct inquiries about respiratory diseases or outbreaks in general to ob体育-INFO.
- Contact the relevant state or local health department with questions about specific outbreak investigations.
Requesting ob体育 assistance
ob体育 staff are available to provide assistance to health departments and public health agencies during respiratory disease outbreaks when:
- The causative agent has been identified prior to contacting ob体育, but needs to be confirmed
- More than one causative agent is suspected and epidemiological or laboratory assistance is needed
- The etiology is unknown
Request assistance
Diagnostic tests used at ob体育
ob体育 laboratories can test for a wide variety of viral, bacterial, and other pathogens at the same time.
For help identifying the right test for your needs, view ob体育's searchable Test Directory for
- An up-to-date list of orderable tests
- Information on specimen requirements
- Contact information
- Test turnaround times
- Other supplemental information
ob体育 testing requirements
Who can submit
Only state health departments and other federal agencies may submit specimens directly to ob体育 for pathogen detection and characterization. Others must contact their local (city or county) or state health department about how and when to submit specimens for testing. That includes:
- Private citizens
- Healthcare providers
- Hospital personnel
For requests outside of the United States, please ensure that the local health authorities are involved.
Pre-approval
All specimens sent to ob体育 require approval by the relevant state health departments and ob体育 prior to shipment. All potential testing requires:
- Consultation with the appropriate ob体育 subject matter expert
- ob体育 approval before shipping the specimens