April 8, 2009
Ohio to construct biosafety lab for animal and plant health
The construction of a new biosafety facility for animal and plant health has been approved by the Ohio State University Board of Trustees.
The US$21.7 million lab will be built in the Wooster campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Centre (OARDC), which will use the facility to enhance its research programmes on infectious diseases of plants and animals.
The facility will allow researchers to compete for new federal grants and enable them to meet industry and state expectations, while also providing proactive solutions to impending disease problems facing the plant and animal industries, said OARDC director Steve Slack.
In addition to three biosafety level three (BSL-3) labs, the Plant and Animal Agrosecurity Research (PAAR) Facility will include two BSL-3 Ag isolation rooms, which will work with larger animals such as cows and pigs.
The PAAR facility is expected to significantly boost research on a number of disease organisms and pests capable of causing billions of dollars in losses to crops, trees and livestock. These include bird flu, which threatens the state's US$93 million turkey industry, said the university.
As animal-borne diseases such as bird flu can infect humans as well, PAAR research is also expected to contribute to advancements in public health, though no human studies will be conducted at the facility.
Slack said the lab will allow Ohio to be proactive in the development of new diagnostic tools, treatments, vaccines or genetically-resistant animals and plants to reduce economic losses from diseases and pests.
Construction is expected to begin in September 2009.
