What does the NBAF do?
The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) will be a state-of-the-art biocontainment laboratory for the study of diseases that threaten both America’s animal agricultural industry and public health.
Where is Plum Island moving to?
Manhattan, Kansas
Homeland Security selects Kansas as site for National Bio and Agro Defense Lab.
What is a BSL-4 lab?
As the highest level of biological safety, a BSL-4 lab consists of work with highly dangerous and exotic microbes. Infections caused by these types of microbes are frequently fatal, and come without treatment or vaccines. Two examples of such microbes include Ebola and Marburg viruses.
How many BSL-4 labs are there in the US?
There are currently only four operational BSL-4 laboratory suites in the United States: at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta; at the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland; at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research …
Is Plum Island beach closed?
Because the popular Sandy Point State Reservation, located at the southern tip of Plum Island, is run by the state and not federally controlled, the beach remains open. Visit the Plum Island Beach page for other options during the Plum Island refuge closures.
What BSL level is Ebola?
BIOSAFETY LEVEL 4 (BSL-4) LABS Work with the world’s most deadly agents, including viruses that cause smallpox and viral hemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola, is done at biosafety level 4 (BSL-4).
Did Lyme disease exist before 1975?
A team of researchers led by the Yale School of Public Health has found that the Lyme disease bacterium is ancient in North America, circulating silently in forests for at least 60,000 years—long before the disease was first described in Lyme, Connecticut, in 1976 and long before the arrival of humans.
When is the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility ( NBAF )?
It’s being constructed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The $1.25 billion facility is a biosafety level-4 laboratory and will replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York. NBAF is expected to be operational by 2022-2023.
Are there any USDA jobs at the NBAF?
USDA is now hiring for NBAF positions. Most positions are related to the operations of the facility, however, there will be science positions that will also be announced.
Why is bio / agrodefense important to the world?
The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has validated the importance of bio/agrodefense not just for America, but for the world. The warnings issued year after year by infectious disease scientists and clinicians were ignored too long, but hopefully, the events of 2020 will serve as a wake-up call.
When did the NBAF transfer to the USDA?
On June 20, 2019, officials from the USDA and DHS signed a Memorandum of Agreement (PDF, 16pp, 165 KB) that formally outlined how the departments will transfer ownership and operational responsibility for the NBAF from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate to USDA.