WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(CCNMatthews - July 31, 2006) - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) today announced that its National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease (NCFAD) in Winnipeg has been designated as a Reference Laboratory for Avian Influenza and for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), during its recently concluded 74th General Session. Dr. John Pasick, Head, Classical Swine Fever and Avian Diseases Unit, has been designated by the OIE as the lab’s Expert for avian influenza, and Dr. Stefanie Czub, Head, Pathology, has been designated as the Expert for BSE.