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Due to budget shortfalls, the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, managed by the University of California, Davis, will close its Fresno laboratory on July 19.

The laboratory system provides diagnostic services for diseases in livestock, poultry and horses to veterinarians and animal producers in California’s agricultural heartland. Closure of the 59-year-old Fresno laboratory will shift diagnostic testing to other facilities in the laboratory system.

"We are proud of the Fresno laboratory's long service to California, particularly to the agricultural industry of the southern San Joaquin Valley," said Bennie Osburn, dean of the ºÙºÙÊÓƵ School of Veterinary Medicine, which operates the laboratory network. "Unfortunately, reduced state funding combined with rising costs to manage a sophisticated laboratory system have left it struggling to maintain services."

The laboratory system, managed by ºÙºÙÊÓƵ since 1987, has its reference lab at ºÙºÙÊÓƵ and branch laboratories in Turlock, Fresno, Tulare and San Bernardino. The network of diagnostic labs receives approximately 80 percent of its funding from a contract with the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The remainder of its revenue comes from fee-for-service testing provided to veterinarians and agricultural producers. Rising costs and a reduction in the contract with the state during 2008-2009, compounded by the weak economy, have left the system with a projected funding deficit exceeding $2 million in 2009-2010.

The closure of the Fresno laboratory will affect more than 20 employees, resulting in the reassignment of three faculty positions to the system’s labs in Tulare and Davis and the layoff of the remaining scientific and administrative personnel.

In addition to the closure of the Fresno lab, the laboratory system has eliminated 14.75 positions through staff and faculty attrition at the Davis, San Bernardino and Turlock labs.

"The faculty and staff of our laboratories are dedicated to high-quality service for our animal industry," said Hailu Kinde, director of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System. "While we deeply regret the personal and professional impact of this closure upon our colleagues in Fresno, we remain committed to upholding the mission of the laboratory system. We will make every effort to continue to provide excellent, reliable diagnostic service."

Kinde said that the laboratory system has reached out to contact area veterinarians and agricultural producers via e-mail, alerting them to the Fresno lab’s impending closure and informing them of plans for continued diagnostic services.

The Fresno branch laboratory has provided a full range of testing services including poultry disease monitoring, as well as surveillance for brucellosis, tuberculosis and avian viruses. Following the lab’s closure, brucellosis surveillance and poultry pathology will be carried out at the Tulare laboratory. Diagnostic tests for viruses in poultry will be conducted at the laboratory at ºÙºÙÊÓƵ, while blood and serum tests will be done at the Turlock laboratory.

About ºÙºÙÊÓƵ

For 100 years, ºÙºÙÊÓƵ has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, ºÙºÙÊÓƵ has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges -- Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science -- and advanced degrees from six professional schools -- Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.