Excerpt from original contract
In 1958 the World Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease was designated by the FAO, with a budget of £250 per annum, and two years later the laboratory was designated as a reference laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease by the OIE (now the World Organisation for Animal Health, WOAH). At this point in time there were regular epidemics of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Europe (of seroypes O, A and C). There had also recently been outbreaks in Canada (serotype A) and Mexico (serotype O).
![](https://www.wrlfmd.org/sites/world/files/styles/medium/public/quick_media/Pirbright%20Site%20circa%201950s.png?itok=lYEse23n)
The Pirbright site in the 1950s
![](https://www.wrlfmd.org/sites/world/files/styles/medium/public/quick_media/Pirbright%20circa%202010s.png?itok=VoqWisWi)
The Pirbright site in the 2010s
![](https://www.wrlfmd.org/sites/world/files/styles/medium/public/quick_media/pirbright-building.jpg?itok=W6L2mxRY)
The Plowright Building