Nov 13, 2019 -- Scenic view from one of the two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Plum Island Animal Disease Center contract ferries that staff use to commute from NY and CT.
The USDA Plum Island Animal Disease Center, a high-security laboratory located off the coast of Long Island in NY, works to protect against foreign agricultural diseases that could impact the nation's farm economy and export markets... and your food supply. In Addition to ASFV, Plum Island studies foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). Plum Island is located off the northeastern tip of New York's Long Island. USDA activities at Plum Island are carried out by scientists and veterinarians with the department's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). We're equally proud of our safety record. Not once in our nearly 50 years of operation has an animal pathogen escaped from the island. In 2003 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) joined us on the island, taking responsibility for the safety and security of the facility.
For more information please see:
ars.usda.gov/research/programs-projects/project/?accnNo=431897
usda.gov
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung. Original public domain image from Flickr