For the past five years, the University of Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC) has worked toward attaining national accreditation. All the hard work paid off as the center recently received its certificate of full accreditation from the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians for all species.

The center’s director and epidemiology professor, Craig Carter, DVM, PhD, said the accreditation will allow the center to better serve the people of Kentucky and beyond.

“This is our gold star,” he said. “It elevates our status and also enhances the way those in the agricultural industry view us. It also enhances our international reputation. It means others can be confident that when we run a test, the results are reliable, accurate, and repeatable in other labs in this country and in other countries as well.”

Carter said with accreditation comes the opportunity to join the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The network strengthens the United States’ defense against large-scale foreign animal disease outbreaks and provides a way to track such threats should they become an issue