CROSS-CUTTING AREAS By Nicole Wolter of the Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, a division of the National Health Laboratory Service; and the School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Strengthening laboratory collaboration across human, animal and environmental health Laboratories are the backbone of One Health, providing timely detection, diagnosis and monitoring of diseases and zoonotic threats across humans, animals and the environment. The early detection of diseases in animals and the characterisation of pathogens can prevent spillover and spread in humans. Laboratories make this possible by providing time-sensitive data to guide outbreak responses and support decision-making. South Africa has an advanced laboratory system that provides in-country capacity to detect priority diseases, including notifiable medical conditions in humans and controlled and notifiable diseases in animals. But the implementation of an effective One Health approach depends on a collaborative and wellcoordinated laboratory system, with established mechanisms for rapidly sharing laboratory data across human, animal and environmental sectors. South Africa’s veterinary laboratory landscape supports animal health, food security and public health through a coordinated system of public, parastatal, academic and private institutions operating within a regulated framework. This landscape provides support for disease surveillance, diagnosis, research and emergency response for endemic, emerging and transboundary animal diseases. Within this system, the Agricultural Research Council – Onderstepoort Veterinary Research serves as South Africa’s National Reference Laboratory for controlled and notifiable animal diseases. South Africa’s laboratory capacity Public health laboratories provide essential services such as diagnostics, disease surveillance and outbreak pathogen detection. The National Health Laboratory Service serves more than 80% of the country’s population through a national network of 215 laboratories in all nine provinces, enabling early detection of priority diseases. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases serves as the national public health institute and supports the government’s response to communicable disease threats by providing disease surveillance, specialised diagnostics, outbreak response, public health research and workforce capacity building. Private sector laboratories complement the public sector by providing fee-forservice diagnostics and additional testing capacity, thereby strengthening public health security. The early detection of diseases in animals and the characterisation of pathogens can prevent spillover and spread in humans. 21
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