Protocols

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has developed standardized guidelines in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL). These protocols should be integrated into the standard operating procedures of any sentinel laboratory. The purpose is to provide the algorithms used to rule out suspected critical agents of bioterrorism and to refer the specimens to public health laboratories for confirmation.

The protocols are available to sentinel clinical laboratories at: https://www.asm.org/ASM/media/Policy-and-Advocacy/Biosafety_Sentinel_Guideline_October_2018_FINAL.pdf and Clinical Laboratory Protocols at: https://asm.org/Articles/CPHMC/Laboratory-Response-Network-LRN-Sentinel-Level-C