The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services assists the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA, APHIS) in conducting routine investigations for Foreign Animal Disease (FAD).

The protocol for conducting investigations includes:
Dispatch a USDA, Veterinary Service Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostician to the premises where suspicious animals are located.
Initiate a Foreign Animal Disease investigation.
If warranted, submit samples to the USDA, APHIS Veterinary Services Diagnostic Lab in Plum Island, New York.
Quarantine the premises until test results are obtained.
If test results are positive, continue quarantine.
If test results are negative, release quarantine.

Quarantine of a premises occurs once samples have been submitted to the USDA for analysis. A quarantine is a precaution and is NOT a diagnosis of a Foreign Animal Disease.

In order to protect the rights of individuals, the NCDA&CS does not release the name and location of a routine investigation until such time as a definite diagnosis of a FAD is made.

NCDA&CS Veterinary Division, Dr. David Marshall, DVM, State Veterinarian
Mailing Address:1030 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1030
Physical Address: 2 W. Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: (919) 733-7601; FAX: (919) 733-2277