Veterinary diagnostic laboratories and their support role for Veterinary Services.

National Veterinary Services administer a number of regulatory programmes, such as foreign animal disease (FAD) surveillance and exclusion of FADs, and certification of regions as free from disease. Laboratory testing is an important part of any surveillance or control programme. Most countries have a national laboratory which performs testing for FADs and provides support for national disease eradication and control programmes. State laboratories provide testing for surveillance programmes and export purposes, in addition to diagnosis of clinical cases. Many national and state laboratories are developing quality assurance programmes to assure the reliability of testing results. Veterinary Services are reliant on the diagnostic expertise of the laboratory system of that country to be able to respond to FAD introductions and to provide the surveillance programmes needed to detect the introduction of diseases and to certify freedom from disease.