PULLMAN, Wash. — A WSU laboratory is at the forefront of tracking some of the current animal disease outbreaks and keeping our food supply safe.
The WSU Animal Diagnostic Disease Laboratory (WADDL) works with several different agencies to track and test for diseases in animals across the Inland Northwest and throughout the country.
“It’s humbling because you have a lot of responsibility and the expectation of doing things right,” said Kevin Snekvik, Executive Director of WADDL.
The lab currently serves as a command center for monitoring the bird flu that has been found in dairy cows across the United States, including in Idaho and California.
It has been testing and tracking animals for food safety since 2021.
“It’s not just at the animal level, but also at the producer level and helping their farm, helping their workers. It’s not just a single component of helping an animal, but helping the public,” said Snekvik.
WADDL is also actively tracking the chronic wasting disease that has been affecting deer in Washington.
The lab confirmed the first case earlier this year.
“We work with other laboratories that are testing for chronic wasting disease that have the exact same concern, so at the national level, we’re in those discussions,” said Snekvik.
The lab gives students the opportunity to work with innovative technology as they aim to keep the food supply safe and healthy.
“We actually play a role across the spectrum as far as human health, animal health and even to the point of having a connection with the environment in a way, because disease is intimately tied to the environment in a lot of situations,” said Snekvik.
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