The North Carolina Regional State Laboratory located in Mecklenburg County is a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) facility.  It plays an essential role in disease outbreaks, public health emergencies and bioterrorism events or threats.  The role of the lab is to provide timely, accurate and thorough assessment of causative agents in these cases.   

This reference lab is a part of the National Laboratory Response Network and provides confirmatory testing for hospitals within PHRST  7 region. This lab plays an integral role assisting in characterizing the nature and scope of an outbreak and is essential in helping local Health Departments in the region to determine if illness in the community signals a potential bioterrorism event.

Other services provided include assessing capabilities of level A hospital labs and providing instruction, training and educational materials to strengthen and improve testing and relationships between Level A and Level B/C laboratories.