Santé De Cheval - School of Veterinary Medicine - Louisiana State ...

New Large Animal Isolation UnitReceives Complete Funding forConstructionFor the past few years a key objective of the Equine HealthStudies Program has been to secure funding for a new stateof-the-artlarge animal isolation facility to house horses andother large animals with a potentially contagious disease.Isolation facilities are an important part of any health carecenter whether they are for humans or animals. Not onlyare these facilities necessary to prevent the spread ofdisease within the hospital, but also to provide the optimumenvironment for patients who utilize the isolation facilities.It is necessary that such facilities are made available andmaintained to the highest standards to ensure the health andwell-being of all animals who visit the hospital.Recently, through a combination of private support andstate matching dollars, the $5.3 million in necessary fundshas been realized to bring this project to fruition. “It is atremendously exciting time at LSU, knowing that this facilitycan now be constructed and that our service can expandits offerings to provide health care to more horses with apotentially contagious disease and that we can treat themwith confidence knowing that they are in the most secureenvironment possible,” said Dr. Frank Andrews, director of theEHSP.Horses suspected of salmonella, strangles, West NileVirus, rabies, and other communicable disease are housedexclusively in isolation facilities. Adequate Isolation facilitiesare particularly crucial in the face of a natural or man-madedisaster, as these are historically a catalyst for the threat ofcontagious or infectious disease. Owners who bring theirhorses to LSU can be confident that stringent measures areconsistently maintained to ensure the health safety of everyhorse in our care.Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all of the countless individualswho supported this project with their own personal foundationcontributions,” Andrews continued. “This would clearly havenever been possible without the strong demonstration andprivate support from our donors.”2