A federal disease lab in Winnipeg has been put at the forefront of international efforts to control avian influenza and BSE.
The National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg was recently designated as a reference laboratory for avian influenza and BSE by the World Organization for Animal Health, also known as the OIE. The centre is part of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The designation by a well-respected organization such as the OIE illustrates the high level of expertise brought together at the Winnipeg lab to protect Canadian agriculture and Canadians, federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl said in a statement.
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It means the benefits of the centre will also extend internationally. Among its tasks are the development of methods for diagnosing and controlling the two diseases, as well as training scientific personnel from other OIE member countries.
The lab will also assist other countries with diagnostic testing for those diseases.
When it comes to avian influenza, a priority includes developing a rapid method for testing, said John Pasick, head of the centre’s classical swine fever and avian diseases unit. Evaluating vaccines and understanding the effects of the disease and its movement in wild birds is also important to the laboratory.
The National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease is part of the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health. The National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada is also housed there.
The facility is unique in the world because it brings together high biocontainment level laboratories for both human and animal diseases. That’s considered important when researching diseases that can threaten human and animal health, such as avian influenza and BSE.
