This model differs from more traditional approaches to disease investigation, in which individual sick animals are delivered to a veterinary teaching hospital or a diagnostic lab for evaluation. The FDIU has responded to needs from all over the Pacific Northwest, averaging 285 farm visits a year, and has conducted research investigations into prominent disease outbreaks threatening the economy of herds in the Pacific Northwest and the nation. Jointly supported by the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Agriculture and Home Economics at Washington State University, the unit works closely with the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Washington State University. Advice and consultation on regional and national animal disease and public health problems are provided to producers, practicing veterinarians, animal industry groups, and state and federal regulatory officials. Grants fund most FDIU research projects.
Awards come from both government agencies and private institutions.
Teaching Veterinary students accompany FDIU teams as an elective block in their senior year, traveling to field sites for investigations. Students are trained in herd investigation and other aspects of population medicine, providing them with a basic understanding of the epidemiological approach to solving disease outbreak problems. The program is the only exposure veterinary students have to group disease outbreak problems. The FDIU faculty oversee a number of the required senior student research projects and presentations which spring from ongoing investigation and research. Graduate education is an integral part of the FDIU faculty's academic responsibilities.