Infectious Diseases
An isolation suite for challenging animals with pathogens
A Containment Unit (CU) within LARIF provides specialist animal holding areas and dedicated procedure rooms, allowing controlled experimental challenge of farm animals with infectious pathogens, e.g. to test the effectiveness of novel vaccines or other therapies.
The CU can hold multiple species of large animals, with particular expertise in cattle, sheep and pigs. The CU can also accommodate poultry, and users benefit from unique avian lines and resources from the National Avian Research Facility (NARF) on campus.
Two separate isolation units are available in the LARIF for the study of infectious diseases. They allow researchers to challenge animals with pathogens aiding the development of vaccines and an understanding of how diseases spread.
The isolation units at the LARIF:
- Operate at containment level 2
- Suitable for the use of genetically modified organisms
- Connected to dedicated procedure rooms