International accreditation for CSIRO lab

CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL), in Geelong, Victoria, has become the first facility in the world to be accredited as an international collaborative centre for new and emerging diseases.

Granted by the world animal health organisation - the Office International des Epizootics (OIE) - the accreditation means that AAHL will now be at the forefront of international efforts to manage the growing number of disease agents that pose a risk to animal and human health.

AAHL Director, Dr Martyn Jeggo, says that factors such as globalisation, climate change, changes to livestock production systems and disease evolution have resulted in an ever increasing number of disease threats.

"Increased international travel has provided additional opportunities for infectious agents to move around the globe. As disease agents such as foot and mouth disease (FMD) evolve and adapt to new environments, they become increasingly difficult to manage," Dr Jeggo says.

New and emerging diseases can affect a country's ability to trade.

"The $4 billion livestock and livestock products export trade is vital to Australia's agricultural export earnings and to the economies of rural and regional areas. New and emerging diseases have the potential to wipe this out," Dr Jeggo says.

A proven track record in diagnosing and managing emerging diseases, specialist biocontainment facilities and a 'hot zone' location, were factors in the decision to designate AAHL as an international collaborative centre.

"While Australia is free from the major livestock diseases that occur in other parts of the world, in the last 10 years we have had to diagnose and manage a range of completely new pathogens including Hendra virus, Australian bat lyssavirus and Menangle virus," Dr Jeggo says.

The establishment of the collaborative centre will benefit Australia by strengthening global links and increasing access to knowledge, expertise, tools and technologies.

"As a collaborative centre, AAHL is leading the world in diagnosis and surveillance of new and emerging diseases.

"We have a key role in protecting Australia's livestock export trade and helping the world manage these new disease threats," says Dr Jeggo.

AAHL is also accredited as an OIE Reference Laboratory for highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle disease in poultry, Hendra and Nipah virus diseases and epizootic haematopoietic necrosis virus in fish.

Item provided courtesy of CSIRO