Objective:
USDA, ARS, PIADC in conjuntion with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will implement a research program designed to develop and implement methodology to test the ability of antimicrobial disinfectant chemicals and products to inactivate Foreign Animal Disease (FAD)agents. Rapid restoration of contaminated livestock handling facilites is necessary to mitigate economic consequences associated with a FAD outbreak. Development and application of new antimicrobial chemicals and products will substantially contribute to the protection of US animal industry. Goals of this agreement are to 1. Develop disinfectant efficacy test methods that will be acceptable to USDA and EPA for the purpose of conducting research studies, 2. Conduct research studies to determine the effectiveness of selected antimicrobial pesticides for inactivating priority FAD agents on various surfaces, 3. Test the inactiviaton of less virulent agents by antimicrobial pesticides to determine their suitabilty for use as surrogates for FAD agents in disinfectanty efficacy testing.

Approach:
Testing of antimicrobial disinfectant chemicals and products to inactivate FAD agents will be accomplished through: 1. Implementation of a quality assurance plan, 2. Literature review of current decontamination practices and selection of decontamination technologies, 3. Development and selection of standardized laboratory techniques to measure the efficacy decontamination products, 4. Laboratory studies to determine the efficacy of selected decontamination products against FAD agents conducted in three phases, differentiated by priority, 5. Testing and evaluation of potential surrogates for FAD agents. USDA, PIADC will conduct basic and applied research under BSL-3 conditions to determine the effectiveness of antimicrobial chemical/products against FAD agents. EPA will provide quality control requirements and expertise in antimicrobial chemical/products analysis.