Environment DEC
From the August 2003 issue
Wildlife Pathology Facility Modernized
DEC's newly remodeled Wildlife Pathology Unit (WPU) facilities at the Wildlife Resource Center in Delmar have been officially opened. The WPU is responsible for diagnosing the causes of sickness and death in wildlife.
The conversion of space at the Wildlife Resources Center includes a new wildlife necropsy room, and is the first significant change at the facility since the late 1960s. The updates provide DEC's WPU with many of the most modern features available for such operations and "will enable it to handle a much larger volume of wildlife cases and carry out a wider array of diagnostic procedures," according to DEC Wildlife Pathologist Ward Stone.
Facility Improvements
The improvements and new equipment at the facility cost $180,000 and include:
Additional necropsy work space will
enable pathologists to significantly
increase the amount of
examinations they perform
- expanded (approximately tripling) necropsy work space
- improved ventilation systems
- biosafety cabinet to safely dissect tissues from specimens
- improved drainage systems for safe liquids management
- improved surface coverings to reduce the potential for harboring residues
- improved lighting systems to provide safer working conditions
- new equipment for safe storage and handling of specimens (e.g., freezers, refrigerators, dissection carts)
Public Health Benefits
The biosafety cabinet
is used to dissect
potentially dangerous
animal tissue
In 2002, the WPU handled more than 16,000 specimens received from the state, counties and local governments. Determinations of morbidity and mortality from the WPU are used in law enforcement actions regarding the illegal taking of wildlife, or as evidence of the location of diseased wildlife populations. Less than 20 percent of states have operations with facilities, equipment and personnel comparable to New York's.
The study of rabies, West Nile virus,
botulism and chronic wasting disease
will be enhanced by the
laboratory upgrades
The WPU's role in protecting public health has become more evident in the last decade as, "Increasingly, diseases in animals are also presenting a threat to people" State Department of Health Commissioner Antonia Novello said. The WPU played an important role in 1991, when the state recorded its first outbreak of raccoon rabies. More recently, the WPU has been instrumental in the study of West Nile virus and botulism. In addition, the WPU has been an essential part of DEC's Chronic Wasting Disease Monitoring Program, which to date has not detected the deer and elk disease in New York State.
