LSU Health Shreveport Establish Emerging Viral Threat (EVT) Laboratory to address the need for faster detection and processing of COVID-19 tests

With the support of Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), scientists at LSU Health Shreveport have established the Emerging Viral Threat (EVT) Laboratory to address the need for faster detection and processing of COVID-19 tests. The EVT Lab at LSUHS is the first in North Louisiana approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to conduct and analyze tests to determine if an individual has COVID-19. The EVT Lab is currently in operation and fully staffed as of March 25, 2020.

The EVT Lab is different from any other laboratory in the state because it will not only be testing to determine if a patient is COVID-19 positive, but it will also be screening samples for other mutations of the virus. LSU Health Shreveport is also the only academic center in Louisiana with this capability. The lab provides the same offerings as CDC testing locations and is working collaboratively with the World Health Organization and CDC-sanctioned testing labs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), the University of Washington in Seattle, and Yale University.

LSU Health Shreveport faculty and staff will be processing the tests and will be adhering to all personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines. Data obtained from testing samples will be used for further COVID-19 research to better determine how to combat the virus.

Read more about the EVT lab here.