A4O-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday. Juna 13. 1998
State Veterinary Laboratory Is Strong Defense Against Disease
(ContlniMd from Pago A3O)
merits of total service
performance.
The lab also divides its concerns
between regulatory testing (mean
ing regulation-fulfilling and thus a
more predictable and regular prog
ram of testing that requires dedi
cated staff), and the rest of animal
disease discovery and control.
The system basically works this
way:
• For non-regulatoty disease
research and testing, a veterinarian
in the field has a suspect case and
calls the lab and then ships the
tissues or carcass. (Mostly tissues
are sent to the lab, since the proper
practice of diagnosing disease
requires at least the use of deduc
tive reasoning, employing a type
of cause-and-effect, step-by-step,
troubleshooting approach. That
usually means isolating and testing
certain organs or tissues that, base
d on symptoms or likely possbili
ties, can be expected to reveal the
next likely possibility.)
• Materials are received at a
loading dock. Whole animals are
received and lifted from trucks
with an overhead crane and chains.
The carcass is passed to what
essentially is a dissection room,
though it looks as though it would
make a good butchering floor.
Proper authorization, protective
dress and footwear, and passage
through a footbath, arc required to
enter the dissecting floor.
There, staff essentially begin the
testing process, by removing
tissues and fluids for testing and
directing those initially prepared
tissues io ihc proper e **• furth
er preparation.
Certain tissues from materials
received may be sent for process
ing in wax before being sliced thin,
stained, and placed on a micro
scope, etc.
• If the materials are received
and are part of a routine testing
program, such as for brucellosis
(The state has just been recently
dclcared brucellosis-free, which
further adds to the cattle industry’s
exporting abilities.), the materials
are prepared and then sent to those
testing labs. There are several spe
cialized testing labs located
throughout the building a
brucellosis lab; an avian influenza
lab; a Johnnc’s lab; and a psuedo
rabies testing lab.
The PDA diagnostic lab also
employs the use of high-tech test
ing, whereby they are able to anal
yze small amounts of a virus or
bacteria and replied- it enough to
develop a picture of its DNA for
identification through gene
markers.
Three partners in the PADLS
system have the capabilty to deve
lop testing, given die funding and
A very small collection of preserved tissues awaits test
ing. Some of the labels indicate the species being tested.
The new Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory conducted
more than 100,000 tests in its first year.
time, for new diseases of concern,
or for diseases which have only
recently stimulated concern for
testing.
For example, several years ago,
New York state faced a major
problem with its trout angling
program. New York, as does Pen
nsylvania, sells fishing licenses,
and the general public has come to
expect die fish agencies to stock
trout for spring fishing in exchange
for buying a license.
New York state trout hatcheries
were devastated just before the
regular April 1 trout season open
ing day, when many of its trout
died or were destroyed because of
something called “whirling
disease.”
Whirling disease is the result of
a parasite that can be carried
through the feces of water birds. It
affects the nervous system of the
fish in such a way as to cause them
to exhibit a strange rapid swim
ming behavior twisting around
in a whirling motion.
As a state, Pennsylvania has a
large trout production industry,
and there were plenty of fish to be
sold to New York state for stock
ing its waters for its crowd
drawing and license-selling first
day event.
However, New York regula
tions required that fish entering the
state be tested for whirling disease.
There was no test available.
However, through cooperative
effort, researchers with PDA and
Penn State University quickly
developed a test that was accept
able to New York and the fish were
sold to New York.
New York made out in saving
the New York fishing and hunting
agency from embarrassment and
the loss of potentially tens of thou
sands of dollars or more in lost
license sales;'Pennsylvania trout
producers were able to export a
large number of trout and realize
increased sales.
Further, there is now a test for
whirling disease.
But the ability of the state diag
nostic lab and the tripartite to con
duct tests and to develop testing
procedures are considered invalu
able to Pennsylvania’s competi
tiveness as an agricultural power.
It keeps the PDA lab busy.
According to Purchase, in one
year the lab can expect to conduct
about 150,000 brucellosis tests;
50,000 psuedorabies tests; and a
lot of Johne’s Disease and other
types of monitoring testing.
In light of June being Dairy
Month, the state Diagnostic Labor
atories should be recognized for
the role it plays in helping the
state’s dairy industry remain com
petitive and healthy.
Purchase said the largest num
ber of tests done now are for dairy
related cases, regulatory and non-
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Ar-*.
I
Laboratory technicians concentrate on their work duties at the Pennsylvania Veter
inary Laboratory. The full compliment of employees at the laboratory is about 50.
regulatory.
The avian influenza testing is
right up there now, also, as the
state attempts to contain and con
tinue to monitor a non-pathogenic
strain of avian influenza that has
been discovered on several diffe
rent farms in Lancaster and Leba
non counties during the past two
years.
The lab does two types of testing
for avian influenza one costs
about $2 per test and is used as an
indicative test and confirms the
presence of antibodies; the other
costs about $2OO per test and con
firms the presence of a virus.
Having the two types of tests
helps the lab contain costs while
being aggressive in keeping on top
of the avian influenza virus.
Antibodies are the “smoke,” and
the virus is the “fire.” The $2 anti
body test prevents having to spend
$2OO for each test
After a positive antibody test,
samples can be tested for the actual
virus. The virus testcan confirm its
presence in very small amounts.
Then the virus can be cultured, and
sent off to national laboratories for
identification.
As of this week, there were
seven site quarantines for avian
influenza in place in the state, and
all are expected to be lifted soon.
Barring any new outbreaks, the
last quarantine order is expected to
be lifted by August 1.
The state charges no fee to cover
the cost of regulatory testing, but it
charges for elective testing. The
fee schedule for elective tests
changes periodically, so those
interested in the cost of specific
tests can contact the laboratories.
The PDA Diagnostic Laborat
ory generally doesn’t work direct
ly with livestock producers, but
with veterinarians.
In fact, including Purchase,
there are four veterinarians over
seeing testing operations at the
state lab, as well as overseeing the
staff of 50 in Hanisburg while
Purchase is chief administrator,
there is Dr. Donald Singletaiy,
poultry pathologist; Dr. Hyun
Kim, immuno/histochemsi try spe
cialist; and Dr. Mark Walter, chief
pathologist
In a recent news release, the
state announced the hiring of Dr.
John Enck Jr. of Dillsburg, to
direct the PDA Bureau of Animal
Health and Diagnostic Services, of
which the state Veterinary Labor
atory is a key element.
Enck was on the committee that
designed the laboratory.
In a news release. State Agricul
ture Secretary Samuel Hayes Jr.,
said, “We look forward to his lead-
In the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory avian influen
za lab, Bill Logoda shows a multiple-cell testing dish used
to detect the presence of avian influenza antibodies in sam
ples. This 48-hour test costs about $2 and is a first-line
detection test in a disease survielance program.
ership in keeping our animal tic work will be valuable in prom
industry healthy and competitive, oting the functions of our world-
Dr.Enck's background in diagnos- class laboratory.”
Cove Mountain
Doors June
MERCERSBURG (Franklin
Co.) Cove Mountain Farm, a
seasonal grass-based dairy, has
scheduled an open house for far
mers and the general public on
Thursday, June 25. Farm tours will
be conducted from 11 a.m.-3'p.m.
and a milking demonstration is
scheduled at 4 p.m.
American Farmland Trust
(AFT) developed the grass-based
dairy as a demonstration site to
help other farmers and landowners
leant about the economic and
environmental benefits of grass
based livestock management
systems.
Scheduled activities will
include tours of the 330-acre prop
erty, the New Zealand-siyle milk
ing center, and the USDA’s water
quality research site. The open
house will conclude with a milking
Opens
25
demonstration.
On hand will be Bryan Petrucci,
AFT’s director of farms; Glenn
Moyer, Cove Mountain Farm;
Donna Mennito, AFT’s Mid-
Atlantic field projects specialist;
the Pennsylvania Association for
Sustainable Agriculture; the
USDA Agriculture Research Ser
vice; and the' USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service.
Sponsors include the Maryland/
Virginia Milk Producers Co-op,
the Schlueter Company, Pastures
Unlimited, and Ken Cove Fence
Company.
The farm is located on Rl 456
seven miles north of RL 70 (exit 5)
and nine miles south of RL 16.
For more information, contact
Bryan Petrucci at (717) 328-4400
or Shannon Weller at (202)
659-5170, ext 3032.