Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC), America's first line of defense against foreign animal diseases, has been protecting American agriculture for more than 50 years.
PIADC works to protect farm animals, farmers and ranchers, the nation's farm economy and export markets and, through these efforts, your food supply.
Since 1954, PIADC has conducted research, including vaccine development, for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and other exotic livestock diseases. FMD is extremely contagious among cloven-hoofed animals, and accidental outbreaks have caused catastrophic livestock and economic losses throughout the world.
At PIADC, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) work together on this crucial mission. In 2003, operational responsibility for PIADC transferred from the USDA to the DHS.
USDA activities at Plum Island are carried out by scientists and veterinarians with the department's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
PIADC's Targeted Advanced Development (TAD) unit partners with USDA, academia, and industry scientists to deliver lead vaccine and antiviral candidates to APHIS for licensure and inclusion in the USDA National Veterinary Vaccine Stockpile. Its Disease Threat and Assessment/Forensics (DTA&F) unit obtains epidemiologic information on the FMD virus and other high-priority foreign animal agents.
APHIS scientists operate the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, which tests samples collected from U.S. livestock with clinical signs suggestive of an exotic disease.
APHIS tests animal products and live animals being imported into the U.S. to prevent the accidental introduction of unwanted diseases. APHIS also maintains the North American Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank at PIADC, and trains state, federal, and academic veterinarians and veterinary pathologists to recognize foreign animal diseases.
ARS scientists at PIADC constantly seek new countermeasures against foreign animal diseases, including prevention, control and recovery strategies. ARS focuses on developing faster-acting, safe vaccines and antivirals to limit or stop transmission during outbreaks, and conducts research to better understand the animal-pathogen interaction. The principal diseases studied are FMD, classical swine fever, and vesicular stomatitis virus.
State-of-the-art biosafety practices and procedures prevent disease organisms from escaping into the environment. Biologically isolated air-handling systems, extensive decontamination procedures, preventive maintenance and backup systems on the lab's biosafety systems, trained security professionals, surveillance systems, and rigorous employee standards ensure that Plum Island, located off the northeastern tip of New York's Long Island, and the lab itself remain secure. Not once in more than 50 years of operation has an animal pathogen escaped from the island.
Environmental protection and energy efficiency are important to PIADC's operations. Upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, power plant, and cooling system improve environmental performance.
Employee training, an environmental management system, and regular audits make it every employee's responsibility to protect the environment at Plum Island. Plum Island was recently named an Important Bird Area by the New York Audubon Society. In a successful effort to attract different bird species, Plum Island placed osprey nests and bluebird boxes throughout the island and will add kestrel houses.
More info: http://www.dhs.gov/xres/labs/editorial_0901.shtm
At the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, microbiologists Edan Tulman (left) and Claudio Afonso perform high-throughput capillary DNA sequencing, a technique that enables rapid determination of the complete genetic content of a viral pathogen. Photo by Kathy Apicelli. (Click image to enlarge)
