Breadcrumb

1. Home

2. Print 

3. Pdf 

4. Node 

5. Entity Print 

NVSL Foreign Animal Disease

Diagnostic Laboratory

Last Modified: 

Print

The Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (FADDL) is one of four National

Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) for APHIS. Together, these laboratories

provide critical support to the U.S. animal health system—more specifically, the

animal agricultural sector—through the testing and diagnosis of a variety of

infectious diseases. 

Currently, FADDL is located at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) in New

York, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Kansas, and the Puerto

Rico Department of Agriculture. FADDL’s work at Plum Island is moving to NBAF.

What We Do

Scientists at the FADDL are devoted to diagnosing foreign diseases of animals and

partner with scientists of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the 

USDA's Agricultural Research Service (also located at Plum Island and NBAF) in

foreign animal disease research.

Additionally, the FADDL is the custodian of the North American Foot-and-Mouth

Disease (FMD) Antigen Bank. The bank stores concentrated FMD antigen that can be
formulated into vaccines if an FMD introduction occurs. The bank is co-owned by

Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Personnel working in the vaccine bank are

responsible for performing safety and potency testing of new antigen lots of FMD

vaccine and periodically testing the quality of stored antigen.

Organization

The FADDL is composed of four sections: the Diagnostic Services Section, Reagents

and Vaccine Services Section, Scientific Liaison Services Section, and Proficiency and

Validation Service Section.

Diagnostic Services Section

Scientists in the Diagnostic Services Section have the capability to diagnose more

than 30 exotic animal diseases (including FMD, classical swine fever, African swine

fever, and other diseases listed by the World Organisation for Animal Health

(WOAH), and they perform thousands of diagnostic tests each year, looking for the

presence of FAD agents. Tissue and blood samples to be tested are submitted by

veterinarians suspecting an exotic disease in domestic livestock or by animal import

centers testing quarantined animals for foreign diseases. Samples also are

submitted by animal health professionals in other countries who need help with a

diagnosis. The FADDL is a Reference Laboratory for WOAHE and a Reference Centre

for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

For more details on NVSL activities, visit About the NVSL.

Reagents and Vaccine Services Section

The Reagents and Vaccine Services Section provides diagnostic reagents, assays,

vaccines and other services for identification, control, and eradication of foreign

animal diseases. The section is responsible for production and quality testing of

reagents used at FADDL in diagnostic assays and for the training and proficiency

testing program for the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. It also

participates in safety and potency evaluations of potential vaccines against foreign

animal diseases.

The FADDL provides training to State, Federal, and foreign officials in the clinical and

laboratory diagnosis of foreign animal diseases.
Scientific Liaison Services Section

The Scientific Liaison Services Section (SLSS) is a newly created section that carries

out a cross-cutting function by providing scientific and technical support to other

FADDL sections. Its activities include development and validation of improved

diagnostic tests, pathogen surveillance and discovery through application of stateof-the art metagenomics, and detection technologies through engagement in

national and international collaboration. SLSS is also interested in the application of

computational biology, bioinformatics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning

approaches to infectious disease investigation, including pathogen discovery. The

section is host to capabilities and state-of-the art sequencing technologies that

provide support to the FADDL's Diagnostic Services Section and Reagents and

Vaccine Services Section. Specifically, the SLSS engages laboratories in endemic

countries in development and field validation of novel diagnostics, pathogen

discovery, outbreak investigations, molecular epidemiology, and surveillance of

emerging infectious diseases.

Proficiency and Validation Service Section

The Proficiency and Validation Service Section (PVSS) is a newly organized section

within FADDL. Four functional teams in PVSS include the Proficiency team, Validation

team, Import Export Domestic Transfer Safety (IEDTS ) team, and Calibration team.

The Proficiency team has an important mission to support National Animal Health

Laboratory Network (NAHLN ) laboratories via production of proficiency panels and

controls for diagnosis of foreign animal diseases (FAD), as well as diagnostic

proficiency tests for NAHLN laboratory personnel. The Validation team mission is to

verify, validate, and research and develop FAD diagnostic tests for uses in internal

(FADDL Diagnostic Services Section) and external stakeholders such as NAHLN

laboratories and international organizations. The IEDTS team functions as the liaison

for risk analysis and coordination on FAD safety testing for animal-origin import and

export materials. The Calibration team is in charge of calibration, maintenance, and

repair of laboratory equipment, which is crucial for ISO accreditation and

maintenance.

The FADDL provides training to State, Federal, and foreign officials in the clinical and

laboratory diagnosis of foreign animal diseases.
Contact Information

NVSL-FADDL

Packages: 

40550 Route 25

Orient Point, NY 11957

Letters: 

11957 P.O. Box 848

Greenport, NY 11944

Phone: 631-323-3256

Fax: 631-323-3366 

Director: Robin Holland

Phone: 785-712-3600

Email: robin.holland@usda.gov

Associate Director: Muzafar Makhdoomi

Phone: 631-323-3113

Fax: 631-323-3366

Email: muzafar.makhdoomi@usda.gov

Scientific Liaison Services Section

Supervisor: Bonto Faburay

Phone: 631-323-3022

Email: bonto.faburay@usda.gov

Diagnostic Services Section

Supervisor: Vacant

Phone: n/a

Email: n/a

Reagents and Vaccine Services Section
Supervisor: Wei Jia

Phone: 631-323-3344

Email: wei.jia@usda.gov

Proficiency and Validation Services Section

Supervisor: Vacant

Phone: n/a

Email: n/a

NAFMDV and NAVVC BANKS

Supervisor: Jamie Barnabei

Phone: 631-323-3402

Email: jamie.l.barnabei@usda.gov

See More See Less