quote:Originally posted by Eight Legs Bad: I can't access this site at all. Where was the lab?
Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Here's the text of the article, plus reader comments:
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New $27.5 million lab completed at Tulane University's National Primate Research Center near Covington
Posted by balexand December 05, 2008 14:31PM
Five years in the making and spurred by an influx of federal funding for bioterrorism research following anthrax scares and 9-11, Tulane University's National Primate Research Center this morning showed off its new $27.5 million lab for studying airborne contaminants and infectious diseases.
The Regional Biosafety Laboratory, a 38,000-square-foot facility within the center near Covington, is not expected to open for business until mid-summer, but on Friday morning, national, state and local officials used a farcically large pair of scissors to cut a green ribbon, officially marking the lab's completion.
"The focus is how you prevent exposure for a new emergent disease that is moving this way, or for a bioterrorism event," explained Andrew Lackner, the center's director.
So its goal is to develop treatments, vaccines and new diagnostic tests for infectious diseases that occur naturally and against biological agents that have the potential for terrorism.
In pursuit of that, its scientists will study a variety of bacteria, viruses and biotoxins, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, West Nile Virus, tuberculosis, epidemic typhus, Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis, St. Louis Encephalitis, Brucellosis, and the plague.
It's one of 13 laboratories supported by the National Institutes of Health that are characterized as biosafety level 3. Biosafety levels indicate the danger of the infectious agents with which people will be working. The scale, established by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, runs from 0 to 4.
For about 15 years, the local center tucked away in the piney woods south of Covington has had one level-three biosafety lab, but it was only about 3,000 square-feet and did not have the containment capacities needed to study many airborne contaminants, officials said.
The new lab has various bells and whistles to prevent microorganisms from entering the environment, and thereby allows its researchers to study more pathogens. There are respiratory protections, ventilation and decontamination systems, and retina scans for entering certain areas.
Additionally, there are less extravagant measures, such as mandatory showering when entering and exiting the facility; removing all clothing and putting on protective gear before entering a laboratory area; and then sterilizing that protective clothing before it is laundered.
"You can't just come waltzing into this facility," Lackner said today during a tour.
The center as a whole is situated on 500 acres along Three Rivers Road. It is the largest of eight federally financed primate research centers, and it has more than 5,000 monkeys used in the study of diseases such as cancer, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, Lyme disease and leprosy.
The new lab can house 180 monkeys, and likely will only include three of center's eight species -- African Green, Cynomolgus Macaque and Rhesus Macaque.
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Comments
skooks says...
Did anyone ask them about the fact that there have been at least three mass-escapes of monkeys from this facility over the past 10 years? Posted on 12/05/08 at 4:29PM
nolajava says...
I used to live on three rivers rd. I have plenty of pictures of monkies in my yard. There have been way more than 3 mass escapes, trust me. Posted on 12/05/08 at 4:47PM
louzyana says...
Well, this is just scary. They can't keep the monkies under lock and key, how are they going to keep the airborne contaminants from escaping?!
I don't remember anyone asking me if this type of experimenting was ok here in Covington..... Posted on 12/05/08 at 5:02PM
artfulife says...
One can only imagine the amount of suffering these animals will endure. There must be a better way to do the research without subjecting these sentient creatures to torture. I suspect that well funded research facilities like this end up testing/torturing needlessly with redundant proceedures. After all, gotta spend that money, right?
We should demand transparency and oversight! Oh, that's right, we're dealing with "BIO-TERRORISM" research therefore I'm sure the whole facility will be shrouded in secrecy. Great! Posted on 12/05/08 at 5:37PM
WarHawk says...
artfullife, I suppose that you have in the past and will in the future refuse any medical procedure or drugs when a primate was used in the development or testing of those procedures and drugs. Posted on 12/05/08 at 6:17PM
gardengate says...
artful life has a valid point. We all know that many useful drugs have been developed and tested on animals first. For that, we owe a debt of gratitude to those animals that have suffered in the name of science. However, there is a sad truth to the redundant argument.
Experiments rely on government grant money and there are those people who do nothing but specialize in grant writing. The more convincing the argument for money, the more money that comes rolling in. I would guess that people involved in research take a different view of using animals for research, and see them as inferior creatures.
They certainly are not going to turn down grant money, even if it means spending it on research that has been done over and over. Maybe they will justify it by slightly changing the process.
I too feel that there should be oversight to ensure that studies are performed in the most humane possible manner and that there are not repeat experiments for the sake of repeat. A great society treats its children, elderly and animals with compassion. Posted on 12/05/08 at 8:21PM
Talamasca says...
"National Primate Research Center" "anthrax scares, 9-11" "studying airborne contaminants and infectious diseases"
OOOOH lets celibrate! They're testing anthrax strains on monkeys.
Grats on 'keeping the people 'informed'. Translation: Grats on keeping the sheep in line. Posted on 12/07/08 at 1:16AM
-------------------- Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love Posts: 61 | From Atlanta, GA | Registered: Nov 2008
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