The government is considering several locations for building a new high-security laboratory and so far the areas analyzed before the final decision are Athens, Ga.; Manhattan, Kansas; Butner, North Carolina; San Antonio; Flora, Mississippi and Plum Island.

The new National Bio-and Agro-Defense Facility is planned to replace research facility in Plum Island, located at about 100 miles away from New York City. The facility will continue the work on the foot-and-mouth disease studies, Hendra and Nipah viruses, African swine fever, Rift Valley fever and also Japanese encephalitis.

The project demands an extremely careful planning as any incident related to the new laboratory would lead to an outbreak of highly contagious animal diseases.

Such an episode would surely devastate the U.S. economy. The losses in the event of an outbreak are estimated at approximately $3.5 billion in case the location will be set for Georgia, North Carolina or Mississippi, a lower $2.8 billion if the outbreak would happen in Plum Island and more than $4 billion if the location chosen will be Kansas or Texas. The virus would affect all herds of swine, lambs, sheep and cattle in the proximity.

The studies and measures taken by the government pretty much ensure a minimum risk for an outbreak in case of incidents but there is still a good chance that the infections could spread beyond the boundaries of the facility.

The U.S. government had a lot to learn from the mishap suffered by Britain back in 2001, when a similar epidemic led to the slaughter of more than 6 million pigs, sheep and cows which added up to over $5 billion.  

As soon as the decision will be made, the government will proceed with its plans in order to continue its updated research as soon as possible.