The National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) provides laboratory services for the
US Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) based in Riverdale, Maryland responsible for protecting animal health, animal welfare, and plant health. APHIS is the lead ...
(APHIS). It operates from
Ames, Iowa
Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...
and
Plum Island Animal Disease Center
Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) is a United States federal research facility dedicated to the study of foreign animal diseases of livestock. It is part of the Department of Homeland Security Directorate for Science and Technology, an ...
at
Plum Island (New York)
Plum Island is an island in the town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York. The island is situated in Gardiners Bay, east of Orient Point, off the eastern end of the North Fork coast of Long Island. It is about long and wide at its wides ...
. The NVSL provides a wide variety of information and services, centered on diagnosis of domestic and foreign animal diseases, support of disease control and eradication programs, reagents for diagnostic testing, training, and laboratory certification.
HistoryNVSL History
USDA APHIS website (public domain - government employee work), Retrieved May 27, 2014
Originally, the USDA's national veterinary diagnostic laboratory functions were part of its Bureau of Animal Industry.
In 1961, the National Animal Disease Laboratory (NADL) opened in Ames, Iowa. The NADL (later renamed the National Animal Disease Center, or NADC) contained research and regulatory laboratories. The regulatory laboratories provided diagnostic services for the Animal Disease Eradication Division and biologics evaluations for the Animal Inspection and Quarantine Division.
A few years later, reorganization resulted in three independent units: research, biologics, and diagnostics. The biologics group was physically located outside of the NADL facilities. In 1971, diagnostic services were aligned with the Animal Health Division (AHD) laboratory facilities in Beltsville, Maryland.
In 1973, the Biologics and Diagnostic Services Laboratories were brought back together under one Director and named the Veterinary Services Laboratories, part of the new Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
In December 1977, the unit's name changed to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL). Plans were made for construction of new facilities as growth continued. Phase 1 of the plan was completed in 1978, and the biologics, administrative, and support functions moved into the new building. That year, APHIS closed its diagnostic facilities in Beltsville, Maryland, and the veterinary diagnostic functions moved to Ames.
In 1984, diagnostic activities at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center located on Plum Island, New York, were transferred to APHIS supervision. Named the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, it became part of the NVSL.
Biologics testing activities split from the NVSL in 1996, joining biologics licensing and inspection activities to form the Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB). The NVSL now focus exclusively on diagnostic services.
A modernized and consolidated facility for animal health research, diagnosis, and product evaluation, co-locating the NADC, NVSL-Ames, and CVB, was completed in 2009. The facility includes high- and low-containment large animal facilities (BSL-3Ag and BSL-2Ag, respectively) and a consolidated laboratory and administrative facility.
References
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United States Department of Agriculture