For Our Health  - as Canada’s leading public health infectious disease laboratory, the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) is responsible for the identification, control and prevention of infectious diseases.  The NML is located at the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health, the only facility to have high containment laboratories for human and animal health in one facility. It is recognized as a leading facility in an elite group of 15 centres around the world,  equipped with laboratories ranging from biosafety level 2 to level 4 designed to accommodate the most basic to the most deadly infectious organisms.

The NML’s activities include reference microbiology, support to epidemiology programs, surveillance, emergency response, applied and discovery research, and management of intellectual assets to improve public health in Canada and internationally.

The information contained in this website is intended to provide reference information for public health professionals and the general public on the various programs and activities undertaken by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory.