WASHINGTON (AP) — The spread of a deadly livestock disease from a laboratory in Britain has not stopped U.S. officials from considering where to build a new animal disease research lab in this country.
The Aug. 3 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain was tied to a government laboratory and a private vaccine manufacturer in Pirbright, England. Initial tests show a second outbreak, which is still under investigation, was the same strain as the lab-related outbreak.
Still, the Homeland Security Department is moving ahead with plans to consider relocating a similar lab isolated on Plum Island, N.Y., to one of five sites in the U.S. The final site for the lab should be announced next year, with the lab operating by 2014. The possibilities include Athens, Ga.; Manhattan, Kan.; Madison County, Miss.; Granville County, N.C., and San Antonio.
“No matter where we put it it’s going to be safe and secure,” said James Johnson, Homeland Security’s director of national labs and the program manager for the planned lab.
Some cattlemen are skittish about building a lab near their livestock operations.
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