Good day from ADDL.  A few days ago the weather outside was quite appropriate for writing the "winter" edition of the ADDL Diagnostic Forum.  Actually, in our part of the state, we had only a fraction of the snow and associated inconvenience and property damage that found its way to areas of Indiana more to the south.  Our condolences go out to those of you who had losses due to that weather.  As of now, however, we have somewhat overcompensated with 60 degree weather in January, not all that common.

   In the fourth week of November of '04, a site visit team of the Accreditation Committee of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians came to the ADDL to check the capability, operating procedures, test suitability, quality assurance, personnel, administration and standards of our laboratory for accreditation by the AAVLD.  The parting comments of the site visit team were encouraging of their findings and observations but we will not know of the accreditation status until the full committee meets to deliberate on the site visit team report in February.  The ADDL offers thanks and gratitude to the users of the Laboratory who gave of their time to come to meet with the site visit team to offer their thoughts and opinions and answer questions from the team during the visit.

   We are in process of testing the retropharyngeal lymph nodes by immunohistochemistry of about 1100 deer taken by hunters in Indiana in the '04 season for chronic wasting disease.  Up to now, no deer from Indiana have been found to be positive for this disease though it has been found in a deer harvested in northern Illinois, not far from the state line.

   In testing for unauthorized drugs administration to animals shown at the Indiana State Fair in '04 some animals of different species were found to be positive.  Hearings have been held to determine the penalties of offenders in these instances.  The outcome of the hearings are for other regulatory officials; our duty ends with running the tests.

   I hope this finds each of you enjoying the winter and looking forward to a good year in'05.  Our thoughts, prayers and assistance go out to those who have lost so much to the destructive tsunami in the Indiana Ocean.