Plum Island Animal Disease Center

The Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) is a United States federal research facility dedicated to the study of foreign animal diseases. Since 1954, the center has been protecting America's livestock from foreign animal diseases.

PIADC's mission can be grouped into three main categories: diagnosis, research, and education.

As a diagnostic facility, PIADC is capable of diagnosing approximately 36 foreign animal diseases and several domestic diseases. PIADC runs about 30,000 diagnostic tests each year.

The facility's research program includes developing diagnostic tools and preventatives (such as vaccines) for foot-and-mouth disease and other foreign diseases of livestock.

Since 1971, PIADC has been educating veterinarians in foreign animal diseases. The center hosts several Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic schools each year to train federal and state veterinarians and laboratory diagnostic staff, military veterinarians and veterinary school faculty.

PIADC operates Biosafety Level 3 Agriculture (BSL-3Ag), BSL-3 and BSL-2 laboratory facilities.

At PIADC, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) work together in a shared mission. DHS' Targeted Advanced Development unit partners with USDA, academia and industry scientists to deliver promising vaccines and antivirals to the USDA for licensure and inclusion in the USDA National Veterinary Vaccine Stockpile.

USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) performs basic and applied research to better formulate countermeasures against foreign animal diseases, including strategies for prevention, control and recovery. ARS focuses on developing faster-acting vaccines and antivirals to be used during outbreaks to limit or stop transmission. Antivirals prevent infection while vaccine immunity develops. The principal diseases studied are foot-and-mouth disease, classical swine fever, and vesicular stomatitis virus.

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) operates the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, an internationally recognized facility performing diagnostic testing of samples collected from U.S. livestock. APHIS also tests animals and animal products being imported into the U.S. APHIS maintains the North American Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank at PIADC and hosts the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnosticians training program, offering several classes per year to train veterinarians to recognize foreign animal diseases.

The center is located on Plum Island, off the northeast coast of Long Island in New York state. During the Spanish-American War, the island was purchased by the government for the construction of Fort Terry, which was later deactivated after WWII and then reactivated in 1952 for the Army Chemical Corps. In response to disease outbreaks in Mexico and Canada in 1954, the Army turned the island over to the Agriculture Department to establish a research center dedicated to the study of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle. Because Congressional law stipulates that live foot-and-mouth disease virus cannot be studied on the mainland, PIADC is unique in that it is the only laboratory in the U.S. equipped with research facilities that permit the study of foot-and-mouth disease.

Foot-and-mouth disease is extremely contagious among cloven-hoofed animals. Accidental outbreaks of the virus have caused catastrophic livestock and economic losses in many countries throughout the world. Foot-and-mouth disease was eradicated from the U.S. in 1929 but is currently endemic to many parts of the world.

In 2002, the Plum Island Animal Disease Center was transferred from the United States Department of Agriculture to the United States Department of Homeland Security**.


 * On September 11, 2005, It was reported by the United States Department of Homeland Security that the "Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center will be replaced by a new federal facility." The location of said facility is unknown (as of 2/10/07).

Plum Island is the subject of a novel, The Poison Plum, by author Les Roberts, and one entitled Plum Island, by Nelson DeMille.

The new federal facility will be the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).