This abandoned animal testing facility has been abandoned for about 20 years apparently, despite that there are no signs of graffiti. Syringes and other detritus still litter the site and the bones & feathers of the test subjects still sit in the now rusted incinerators.

“Twelve five- to seven-day-old calves from a commercial dairy herd

were used in the trial. The herd had no contact with goats. The

calves had been fed pooled bovine colostrum that tested negative

for MmmLC. They were then transported to the Isolation Unit where they were housed indoors in two pens.

Six of the calves were dosed orally with MmmLC (5.4×1011 colony

forming units or cfu) and the following day four control calves

were placed with them in the same pen.

Six days later the two remaining calves were inoculated

intravenously (IV) with MmmLC (7×1010 cfu) and placed with the

other calves. The calves were monitored for clinical signs and their

temperatures were measured daily for the first 14 days.

Nasal swabs and blood samples were collected from the day of oral

inoculation (day 0) until the day each calf was euthanased (the last

ones on day 43). Nasal swabs were collected on days 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and

at necropsy; blood samples weekly and at necropsy. Necropsies

were carried out at regular intervals during the trial (see table) and

samples taken from tonsil, retropharyngeal and mesenteric lymph

nodes, trachea, lung, spleen, pericardial fluid and joint fluid (stifle,

carpal and hip). Both fresh and fixed samples were collected.

The nasal swabs and tissues were cultured for MmmLC. The same

samples plus bloods were tested in the CAP-21 polymerase chain

reaction (PCR)(3) for Mycoplasma mycoides cluster. The nasal swabs

were also tested in a generic PCR for mycoplasma(4) on days 0 and 2.

Serum samples were tested in the M mycoides complement fixation

test (CFT) using whole cell antigen(6). Histopathology was carried

out on the formalin fixed tissues