DENVER (CBS4) - Citizens got a rare look behind the scenes at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Monday. They got to tour the lab where testing is done to keep Coloradans healthy and safe. CBS4 health specialist Kathy Walsh joined the group.

"This was quite an eye opener. This is where millions of tests are done each year," Walsh said.

From newborn disorders to food borne illnesses, the scientists are dedicated to early detection and stopping any sickness before it spreads.

The Laboratory Services Division looks like something out of the TV show "CSI," but the major crime there is somebody got sick.

"We probably do upwards of 3 million tests per year," Hugh Maguire with the health department said.

With blood from a heel stick they screen 70,000 newborns for serious disorders each year. Experts get a handle on influenza outbreaks, and they test for possible contamination in food. The work is often figuring out why people are sick in hopes of keeping the illness from spreading.

On the tour citizens learned that the lab is cutting edge when it comes to tracking West Nile virus.

"We were actually able to develop here in this lab a tech for taking oral or beak swabs of potentially infected birds," Maguire said.

The curious were impressed.

"They do a lot of work here and they have enormous capabilities," Maguire said.

It was an education and chance to see the health of Coloradans is in capable hands.

The tour was part of National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week.

The state lab also tests for contamination of drinking water, plague in animals, E. coli, and studies the blood of drivers accused of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.