CFIA reference laboratories and collaborating centres

On this page

• Background and impact
• List of CFIA reference laboratories and collaborating centres
  • Map of CFIA reference laboratories and collaborating centres
  • Other Canadian reference laboratories and collaborating centres
• Designation
• Information for scientists and veterinarians
• More information

Background and impact

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is one of Canada's largest science-based agencies and a trusted, internationally recognized leader in scientific expertise and leadership. The CFIA works closely with multisector and multidisciplinary partners around the world to advance One Health priorities that aim to improve the health and wellbeing of humans, animals, plants and the environment and address common threats.

Four CFIA laboratories are recognized by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as Office International des Épizooties (OIE)), the World Health Organization of the United Nations (WHO) or the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for scientific excellence and leadership in 15 areas of expertise related to animal diseases and foodborne parasites. Each also has a designated reference expert, head or contact – a leading researcher on the diagnosis and control of the disease in question. These laboratories provide scientific and technical advice to WOAH, WHO or FAO. The CFIA's reference laboratories and collaborating centres are categorized as follows:

• WOAH Reference Laboratories or WOAH Collaborating Centres
• WHO Collaborating Centre
• FAO Reference Centres

The CFIA's reference laboratories and collaborating centres protect the health and well-being of people, animals and the economy, both in Canada and internationally. The scientific work at these laboratories helps Canada:

• detect animal diseases
• collaborate on research to monitor, control and eradicate these diseases
• contribute to international standards for managing disease and trading animals and animal products

The economic impacts of reference laboratories and collaborating centres are particularly important for Canada, a nation that exports much of its agricultural production.

Example: CFIA's reference laboratory for BSE protects animal health, public health and the economy

The CFIA's National Centre for Animal Disease (NCAD) in Lethbridge, Alberta, is a WOAH Reference Laboratory for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The laboratory plays a critical role in protecting people and animals from fatal disease, while also supporting Canada's multi-billion dollar beef export market.

Canada has many safeguards in place to limit risks of BSE to human and animal health. Canada's BSE surveillance program targets the highest risk animals and actively monitors the level of BSE in the national cattle herd. The surveillance program's objectives are to determine and monitor the level of BSE present in Canada and to confirm the effectiveness of the suite of measures Canada has implemented to protect human and animal health from the disease.

As a BSE reference laboratory, the NCAD is the only laboratory in Canada that can confirm a suspected case of BSE through testing. Through the reference laboratory network, the NCAD also leads an international team conducting ground-breaking research on prion diseases, which includes BSE, as well as chronic wasting disease and scrapie.

The NCAD's contributions to Canada's robust BSE surveillance program gives Canadians and international consumers confidence that Canada is taking responsible actions to monitor the health of the national herd. The results of the program help Canada keep its "negligible BSE risk status", as recognized by WOAH. This status clearly acknowledges the effectiveness of Canada's BSE surveillance and risk-mitigation measures, and is essential to secure and maintain international market access for Canada's top-quality cattle and beef products.

List of CFIA reference laboratories and collaborating centres

• Map of CFIA laboratories across Canada

Map of CFIA reference laboratories and collaborating centres

Map of CFIA reference laboratories and collaborating centres across Canada – text version

Laboratory	WOAH Reference laboratory	FAO Reference Centre	WOAH Collaborating Centre	WHO collaborating centre
National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease (Winnipeg)	African swine fever classical swine fever avian influenza foot-and-mouth disease	foot-and-mouth disease and other vesicular diseases zoonotic and emerging pathogens
National Centre for Animal Diseases (Lethbridge)	anthrax bovine spongiform encephalopathy bovine viral diarrhea
Saskatoon Laboratory	trichinellosis		foodborne zoonotic parasites
The Ottawa Laboratory (Fallowfield)	rabies chronic wasting disease scrapie			control and epidemiology of rabies in carnivores

Other Canadian reference laboratories and collaborating centres

Several non-CFIA laboratories and institutions across Canada are part of the global network of WOAH Reference Laboratories, WOAH Collaborating Centres and WHO Collaborating Centres.

Non-CFIA WHO Collaborating Centres

There are 25 non-CFIA WHO Collaborating Centres across Canada working with the WHO on areas such as biosafety, communicable diseases, nutrition, mental health, chronic diseases, health technologies, and more.

• Search the WHO Collaborating Centres global database

Designation

Reference laboratories and collaborating centres are designated to provide scientific and technical expertise on specific diseases. Designation as a reference laboratory or collaborating centre is a sign of scientific excellence and contributes to the integrity and credibility of the CFIA, as well as WOAH, WHO and FAO.

• Procedures for designation of a WOAH Reference Laboratory
• Procedures for designation of a WOAH Collaborating Centre
• Information for WHO Collaborating Centres
• FAO reference centres: steps for designation

Information for scientists and veterinarians

Animal owners, veterinarians and laboratories are required to immediately report the presence of an animal that has or is suspected of having a reportable disease to a CFIA district veterinarian.

More information on reference laboratories and collaborating centres, including annual reports, data and results, are available at:

• WOAH Reference Laboratories: annual reports
• WOAH Reference Laboratories terms of reference
• WOAH Collaborating Centres: annual reports
• WOAH Collaborating Centres terms of reference
• WHO Collaborating Centres: global database
• FAO: Animal health publications

More information

• Our laboratories
• New release: Canada's National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease designated as a World Organisation for Animal Health Reference Laboratory for African swine fever
• Blog: Twinning is winning: collaborating for the global management of animal diseases
• Podcast: Working with the world's deadliest diseases
• Podcast: How Canada is keeping its pigs safe: African swine fever
• Foot-and-Mouth Disease: a good offence is the best defence
• A glimpse into Canada's highest containment laboratory for animal health: The National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases