CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) is a front line defense – helping to protect Australia from the threat of exotic and emerging animal diseases.
Summary
CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) plays a vital role in maintaining the health of Australia's livestock, aquaculture species and wildlife and ensuring the competitiveness of Australian agriculture and trade.
AAHL is a national centre of excellence in disease diagnosis, research and policy advice in animal health. It is a major facility of CSIRO Livestock Industries.
Through excellent research and quality services, AAHL enhances the international competitiveness of Australia's animal industries, the well-being of Australians and the quality of their environment.
AAHL plays a vital role in maintaining Australia's capability to quickly diagnose exotic (foreign) and emerging animal diseases - collectively known as emergency animal diseases. This is achieved through ongoing research programs to develop the most sensitive, accurate and timely diagnostic tests, which are critical to the success of any eradication campaign in the event of a disease outbreak.
AAHL also undertakes research to develop new diagnostic tests, vaccines and treatments for both exotic and endemic animal diseases of national importance. Major diseases of livestock, aquaculture animals, and wildlife, are studied.
The facility combines a capacity to rapidly diagnose disease with quality research, making it a global leader in a wide range of animal and zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are those which can pass from animals to people.
AAHL is located at 5 Portarlington Road in Geelong, Victoria, about 70 km south west of Melbourne.
The facility is funded by the Australian Federal Government, via CSIRO and the Australian Federal Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. It is also generates revenue from industry organisations and commercial companies.
National responsibilities
AAHL is one of the most sophisticated laboratories in the world for the safe handling and containment of animal diseases and its current replacement cost is estimated at A$650 million.
AAHL includes a high-biocontainment facility, to safely fulfil its major role of diagnosing emergency animal disease outbreaks. Samples are usually submitted by the State or Territory animal disease control authority.
Within the high biocontainment facility, AAHL contains modern animal facilities that can house a range of animal species up to physical containment level four (PC4), the highest level available.
The facility has seven national responsibilities:
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diagnosis of emergency animal diseases, which includes index case confirmation, national emergency response capability and use of accredited and validated tests
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research and development
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supporting national surveillance activities to improve animal disease risk management strategies
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providing technical advice and support to the Australian Federal Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and other stakeholders, both nationally and internationally
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training and education in support of pre-border, border and post-border quarantine
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providing technological support to national and international networks of veterinary laboratories, including quality assurance
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providing expert biosafety and biosecurity advice.
Reference laboratory role
Scientists at AAHL help protect Australia's billion dollar livestock and aquaculture industries from exotic disease threats through testing thousands of samples every year, proving continuing freedom from diseases including foot and mouth disease, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and avian influenza.
The laboratory is a world animal health organisation (Office Internationale des Epizooties - OIE) reference laboratory for:
CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) is a national facility whose major role is to diagnose emergency animal disease outbreaks.
AAHL is also :
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an OIE Collaborating Centre for New and Emerging Diseases
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an OIE Collaborating Centre for Laboratory Capacity Building
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a World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
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a national reference laboratory for rabies and brucella.
Collaboration
The National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) has invested A$8.5 million to upgrade and develop the secure microbiological laboratories at AAHL. This project - due for completion in 2012 - will provide additional PC3 and PC4 laboratory space and technology platforms for use by researchers in the human, plant and animal health sectors.
The high-biocontainment facilities at AAHL will be accessible to researchers working in the fields of:
- biosecurity
- plant health
- new and emerging zoonotic diseases impacting on human and animal health.
Research projects conducted in the facilities need to benefit Australians. The research team members should be Australian or if overseas researchers are involved, the project needs to have a direct benefit for Australia.
The facilities that will be available for external research activities are:
- around 400m2of high grade PC4 laboratory and small animal space
- new and existing PC3 laboratory space totalling 1700m2.
Learn more about AAHL and biocontainment.
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