What kinds of deadly diseases will be housed at NBAF?
We don’t really know. The Department of Homeland Security has provided a list of eight “diseases of interest” as “possibilities for study” for a 500,000 square foot facility that “may change based upon continued threat assessments and risk assessments.” These diseases are: Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Classical Swine Fever (CSF) African Swine Fever (ASF) Rift Valley Fever (RVF) Nipah Virus Hendra Virus Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus Also from the Department of Homeland Security website: “The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) will research high-consequence biological threats involving zoonotic (i.e., transmitted from animals to humans) and foreign animal diseases. It will allow basic research; diagnostic development, testing, and validation; advanced countermeasure development; and training for high-consequence livestock diseases” From Science Daily: “It should be stressed that only about a quarter of zoonotic pathogens are readily
