Good day from Purdue ADDL. The arrival of summer is always a welcome time of the year in Indiana; the crops are in excellent condition for this time of year and though we have had some dry weather, recent rains have been very welcome and beneficial over most of the state. At the time of the sending of the last Diagnostic Forum, we had encountered the toxic nephropathy problem in pet food but, at the time, the identity of the specific toxin was yet unknown. We now, however, know that the toxic principle is/was a nitrogen containing compound, melamine, which is a by-product of the manufacture of plastics. We have encountered only a few pets with pathology consistent with melamine toxicity but anecdotal and published reports of the pathology of the toxicity are quite specific for the diagnosis. Chemical analyses for the presence of the toxin are available, but the massive media coverage of the adulterated foods recalled as a result have been quite effective in stemming this unfortunate toxicity occurrence.
With the financial assistance of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, an incinerator has been installed at the Heeke Southern Indiana Diagnostic Laboratory. Planning, engineering, funding and installation of the equipment has been delayed in this project, but the efforts have come to fruition, the equipment is in place and the initial firing is soon to come. The utilization of the tissue/carcass incinerator at the Heeke Laboratory will eliminate the necessity of finding alternative means of tissue and carcass disposal when the tissues and carcasses are unsuitable for sending to a rendering company. Additional biosecurity has also been effected in the West Lafayette laboratory with minor renovation of the mammalian and avian necropsy areas. Communicating door of the two areas has been installed, allowing discontinuance of direct traffic into the rooms from the common anteroom that formerly connected them.
The recent 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly approved expenditure of $30 million to construct a biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) and biosafety level 3 Ag biocontainment building to be located near and attached to the southeast corner of the present ADDL-West Lafayette building. The use of this high security biocontainment facility will allow diagnostic procedures to identify highly infectious agents in the event of the introduction of a catastrophic disease agent to Indiana animal population(s) by accidental or intentional means. The ADDL presently has biosafety level 2 isolation capabilities which restricts working with such infectious agents as most of those included on the USDA foreign animal disease list. Occupancy of the new building is expected in approximately two years.
Evidence of the competency of our faculty, staff, and graduate students is frequently expressed. Our virology laboratory was recently identified as one of only three laboratories among 22 participants who correctly identified all proficiency tests taken to identify BVD virus by various means. Drs. Peg Miller, Pam Mouser, Dinesh Singh and Inge Langohr were all recently recognized for outstanding accomplishments as noted in the ADDL NEWS. Congratulations to each of you. |
