If you follow Northwest news, you’ve probably heard about the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory recently.
Washington’s first case of chronic wasting disease was diagnosed in a Spokane County deer last year at the laboratory, also known as WADDL.
Over the past several years, WADDL has been at the forefront of testing for outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in the region’s wild birds, domestic poultry, dairy cows, and other animals.
And last fall, lab pathologists determined that a blind mule deer in Idaho had a rare case of plague.
The high-profile cases represent just a few examples of WADDL’s work in diagnostic testing and disease surveillance. The laboratory is part of Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Each year, about 250,000 tests are conducted at the secure, 61,000-square- foot lab in Pullman and its Puyallup branch.
Established in 1974, WADDL is a founding lab in the USDA National Animal Health Laboratory Network. In that role, it’s part of a first alert system for detecting biological threats to animal agriculture, public health, and the nation’s food supply.
WADDL’s ability to respond rapidly was crucial during a 2022 avian flu outbreak in Franklin County. The lab works closely with state and federal agencies on monitoring.
Oakdell Egg Farms near Pasco noticed an uptick in poultry deaths on a Friday. Initial samples rushed to WADDL that afternoon confirmed the avian flu infection over the weekend. By Monday morning, the fast-moving virus had killed more than 1 million chickens at the commercial egg operation.
But “we were able to contain the outbreak to a single facility,” says Kevin Snekvik, WADDL’s executive director. “That’s why timely testing is so important.”
During the pandemic, the state Department of Health also tapped WADDL to process human COVID-19 tests. The lab worked with a Spokane partner to process 80,000 tests over a nine-month period.
WADDL’s mission makes the work more than a job for its employees, Snekvik says. “I go home at night feeling like I’ve done something important. Beyond helping animals, we’re helping producers, helping their workers, and helping keep the public safe.”