About Us

The Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories plays a major role in a statewide, national, and global animal and zoonotic disease surveillance system that seeks to protect the health of livestock, companion animals, and the general public.

As part of state and federal surveillance programs, the laboratory is a member of the Laboratory Response Network Partners in Preparedness, and works in partnership with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Centers for Disease Control.

The laboratory assists the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and the Colorado Department of Agriculture with surveillance for a number of high-profile agents, including coronavirus, avian influenza virus, chronic wasting disease, and mad cow disease.

The CSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories is accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians.

women processing samples under fume hood

Facilities

The Colorado State University Diagnostic Medicine Center is home to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories, with 90,000 square feet of space dedicated to diagnostic services, clinical pathology, and disease surveillance. The facility includes sealed Biosafety Level 3 laboratories approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for handling highly infectious select agents.

News

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Looking into the future with experimental pathology

The CSU Experimental Pathology Facility is shaping the future of pathology by helping researchers evaluate samples and design studies that advance medical knowledge, offering clinical, anatomic, and molecular pathological expertise.

Inside Climate News: Climate Change Is Helping Heartworm Spread to Pets in the Mountain West

Twenty years ago, when veterinarian Colleen Duncan arrived in Fort Collins, Colorado, there were no signs of heartworm in the region’s dogs and cats. “We didn’t test for it,” said Duncan, a professor of veterinary medicine at Colorado State University. “We didn’t put our animals on prevention. We now will do it.”

Small but mighty: CSU researchers are studying bluetongue virus evolution and transmission

Researchers at CSU are studying bluetongue virus evolution and transmission.

What should I know about bird flu?

CSU’s Dr. Kristy Pabilonia, an avian influenza expert, discusses how the virus is impacting different species and the critical role CSU is playing in testing for the virus.

NBC News: It’s time to worry about bird flu in cats

“We may be only testing the sickest cats or one cat from a household. It’s very likely that there have been many cases out there that the cat was not brought to a veterinarian or testing wasn’t done,” said Kristy Pabilonia, director of veterinary diagnostic laboratories at Colorado State University.

Denver 7: ‘Sole Survivor’: Meet Leonardo DiCaprio, the only Colorado cat out of nearly a dozen cases to beat bird flu

The final report from CSU states that samples from Leo are positive for H5 influenza A. The case information continues to state that “this is an emerging virus and there have been detections of this virus across the US in birds and mammals, including recent detections in domestic cats.”