LARAMIE - Gov. Dave Freudenthal and others gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for an addition to the State Veterinary Laboratory where officials say researchers could one day develop an effective vaccine against brucellosis.

Plague, tularemia, Q fever and other wildlife diseases also will be studied at the $24.9 million University of Wyoming facility when it's completed in two years. Plague occurs in prairie dogs and other rodents, tularemia kills rabbits, and Q fever infects sheep and goats.

But brucellosis, which is native to Wyoming elk and bison, was the bug all were talking about at Tuesday's ceremony - no doubt because cattle in a Wyoming herd tested positive for the disease only a year ago.

Brucellosis causes pregnant cattle to abort their fetuses. Wyoming's cattle industry faces losing its federal brucellosis-free status and stricter testing requirements if the bacterial disease turns up in another herd - something that hasn't happened yet.

Freudenthal said a state committee that recommended ways to control brucellosis a few years ago suggested that Wyoming develop its own facilities for researching the disease.

"The federal government is not doing much," Freudenthal said Tuesday. "So one of the reasons that this facility is important is we intend to try and lead that effort."

An existing brucellosis vaccine for cattle isn't especially effective. The vaccine doesn't work at all in elk - one of the mysteries researchers at the facility will attempt to solve, said Frank Galey, dean of the University of Wyoming School of Agriculture.

"We're going to have as much or more activity with brucellosis research as anybody," Galey said. "Wyoming has an interest in getting the research done, so we're really forging ahead with it. This is one of the bigger labs that will be dedicated to doing this."

Another priority, Galey said, is developing a fast and efficient test for the disease. Right now, it takes four tests on each animal to begin to determine if it has brucellosis.

"And even then, it's not 100 percent," he said. "You have to do other stuff."

He said the new facility will have sophisticated air and water filters and decontamination equipment to make sure nasty bacteria and viruses can't get outside.

The federal government a few years ago enacted stricter standards for facilities where certain wildlife and livestock diseases can be studied. The purpose was to prevent terrorists from getting hold of diseases that could harm livestock or people.

The existing State Veterinary Lab is rated "biosafety level two" and has only a 150-square-foot room for level three research, which is the new standard for studying diseases including brucellosis. The new addition will have 10 times as much space for level three research, said State Veterinary Lab Director Don Montgomery.

University President Tom Buchanan said the facility will be an asset for university researchers.

"But it's also here to serve ranchers, the livestock industry and wildlife managers," he said. "This is applied research at its best."