Animal Health (NP 103)

Annual Report for 2007

Introduction

The mission of the Animal Health National Program is to conduct basic and applied research on selected diseases of economic importance to the United States livestock and poultry industries.  The goals of the research mission are to produce knowledge and technology to reduce economic losses from infectious, genetic, and metabolic diseases.  Cyril G. Gay, DVM, Ph.D, National Program Leader (NPL), Animal Health, is currently managing the program.

The Animal Health National Program started a new five-year national program cycle in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007.  The Animal Health National Program currently includes 48 core research projects supported by 124 scientists located at 11 research sites throughout the country.  The ARS research budget for the Animal Health Program FY 2007 was $63.5 million (NTL).

Critical to the success of the research program is the ability to have access to high containment research facilities and the laboratory equipment necessary to study priority pathogens that pose the highest risks to animal and human health.  ARS continues to upgrade its animal research facilities to ensure all research programs are implemented to the highest levels of quality and safety standards.  Our new high containment biosafety level-3 (Ag) large animal facility (Building 9) located at the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, is now fully operational and undergoing the final stages of validation.

Several of the scientists in the Animal Health National Program again received accolades this past year.  Dr. David Swayne of the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in Athens, Georgia, was awarded the Laboratory Director of the Year Award by the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer.  The Poultry Science Association awarded         Dr. Hyun Lillehoj of the Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, the Embrex Fundamental Award in Science.

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