Comment from William Kent

Filovirus is a serious parasitic disease. It is the duty of the federal government to protect its citizens from preventable health and welfare dangers. Failure to do so would constitute a dereliction of duty. That the only private testing facility for the Filovirus is closing and no longer able to provide testing is not an excuse for the federal government to stand by the wayside in this matter. As a result, I fully support the creation of a center to test primates who die of in quarantine for any reason other than trauma. This does not, however, necessarily mean that such services should be free, and part of the cost of handling and owning animals is the cost of medical care. I therefore support a reasonable fee for the HHS/CDC to test for the Filovirus. It is, however, important to balance the cost of the testing with the fee assessed. The fee should not be unreasonable and should incorporate the cost of the physical testing materials, paid work-hours, as well as such incidentals such as the cost of storage and refrigeration. This cost must be weighed against the price paid and in the interest of public health, must not be onerous.