The primary mission of the Disease Control Division is to test human specimens, food and water for diseases of public health significance to protect the citizens of Iowa. The Hygienic Laboratory supports numerous programs to prevent and control communicable disease, participates in epidemiologic investigations of disease outbreaks, and serves as a reference laboratory for clinical testing. Testing services help prevent the spread of disease in Iowa through the detection of infectious organisms, and help families through newborn screening for genetic disorders and maternal screening.

• Began performing assays to test for exposure to the Zika virus.
• Responded to a major mumps outbreak across Iowa, primarily circulating within the state university campuses.
• Detected more than 10 foodborne outbreaks, five being national outbreaks.
• Was chosen for national newborn screening initiative to improve timeliness of screening.
• Discovered that Salmonella Enteriditis was the cause of an outbreak associated with walking tacos served at a high school graduation party.
• Tested more than 8,000 Iowa children for lead exposure.
• Tested more than 1,000 beach sand samples from two Iowa beaches for measurement of E.coli.
• Developed protocols and provided training for Next Generation Sequencing.