01/29/09 Animal disease lab site

Today I have to return to a situation I told you about over eight months ago. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back in one minute with that update. Last May I related to you that the Homeland Security Department would like a new facility to research infectious animal diseases such as foot and mouth disease. The trouble was Homeland Security would like to move the facility from Plum Island off the coast of New York to a mainland site that is surrounded by thousands of livestock. At that time I commented that any accidental release of a disease would be disastrous with such a large animal population close by and I hoped common sense would prevail. What was I thinking? Using the term common sense in the same account dealing with a bureaucracy. Leesa Zalesky relates in Western Ag Reporter that the campus of Kansas State University has become the favored site to build the National Bio and Agri-Defense Facility. Let's see, how many more head of livestock is around Manhattan, Kansas than Plum Island? Oh, just a few. The Department of Homeland Security officials defend their choice since they say the risk of any accidental or intentional release of a catastrophic disease in "low." They point to advances in technology, which will allow scientists to perform research safely. This new lab will be a Biosafety Level 4 facility which means diseases with no known treatment or vaccine can be studied there. I am not against a new facility, but a site with beneficial isolation would seem to be a bit more acceptable. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Ag Reporter 1/15/09