PN-3648 



Aerial view of Plum Island. 



reactions, and host and disease-agent relation- 

 ships. 



• Applied research on virus survival in 

 animals and animal products, methods of virus 

 inactivation, and development of vaccines and 

 other control measures. 



Service 



• Diagnosis of disease by laboratory tests on 

 specimens from animals in suspected field out- 

 breaks. 



• Tests for infectious agents in semen or 

 specimens from live animals prior to importa- 

 tion. 



. • Assessment of hazards from imported prod- 

 ucts. 



• Production of diagnostic materials for 

 other laboratories. 



• Training of U.S. and foreign personnel. 



• Technical assistance to foreign countries to 

 lower disease rates and thus reduce hazards to 

 the United States. 



Technical support to other Federal agencies 

 includes diagnostic services, specialized studies 

 on animal products, and development and 

 evaluation of new techniques. 



Emergency services are performed as required 

 for diagnosing foreign animal diseases. When 



materials from disease outbreaks of suspected 

 foreign origin are submitted to control agencies, 

 studies are conducted to determine whether a 

 foreign animal disease is involved. 



Tests are made on throat fluids, serum, and 

 semen to determine whether animals or semen 

 for importation may be infected with foot-and- 

 mouth disease virus. 



Training courses are given so that diagnosti- 

 cians in the field will become more familiar with 

 the foreign diseases of animals, which they may 

 have to recognize and investigate if outbreaks 

 occur. 



Specialized studies on animal products such as 

 meat and semen are made to assist control 

 agencies in deciding whether certain animal 

 products should be admitted from foreign coun- 

 tries and what may be done to render them safe 

 from a disease standpoint. Certain foreign bio- 

 logical products require a similar safety evalua- 

 tion. If this service had been available in 1908, 

 an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in this 

 country might have been averted. The outbreak 

 was traced to contaminated imported smallpox 

 vaccine, which was propagated in calves. 



New disinfectants and sterilization techniques 

 also are evaluated to assist the work of control 

 agencies in dealing with foreign animal diseases. 



