State’s health officer to fight

The Clarion-Ledger, 7/9/8

The state Department of Health’s lab will have its license revoked for a year for violating federal protocol on lab tests – unless it wins an appeal.

State Health Officer Dr. Ed Thompson is vowing to fight.

Mississippi’s lab processes more than 600,000 specimens a year, including everything from suspected West Nile virus to wastewater.

The lab helps doctors diagnose diseases across Mississippi, Thompson said. “A third of West Nile case diagnoses were confirmed in our lab. We cannot believe Health and Human Services would deprive the entire state of Mississippi of critical services,” he said. “Thousands of patients use those services, including maternity patients, children’s health, people with sexually transmissible diseases.”