The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is awarding 36 research awards totaling more than $56 million to support One Health surveillance and coordination.
One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral and transdisciplinary approach–working at the local, regional, national and global levels–with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes. It recognizes the interconnection between animals, people, plants and their shared environment.
This announcement includes eight USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) projects, one National Science Foundation (NSF) Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID) program project and 27 projects identified through the USDA APHIS SARS-CoV-2 in animals general and tribal funding opportunities.
These awards will help APHIS accomplish its goal of building an early warning system to potentially prevent or limit the next zoonotic disease outbreak.
“APHIS has long relied on collaboration with our state, Tribal, federal, and private partners to help protect our nation’s agricultural and natural resources,” said APHIS Acting Administrator Dr. Michael Watson. “We are excited about the opportunity these new partnerships give us to build critical One Health coordination and capacity while furthering the science on SARS-CoV-2. This important work will strengthen our foundation to protect humans and animals for years to come.”
The One Health concept recognizes that the health of people, animals and the environment are linked. For decades, APHIS has taken a One Health approach in its efforts to eradicate and control diseases in livestock and wildlife. For example, when working to eradicate tuberculosis in cattle or reduce rabies in wildlife, it accounts for the interplay of humans, animals and the natural world they share. APHIS is currently conducting multiple projects related to One Health, including those aimed at understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 virus behaves in different animals, how it moves between animals and people, and what it can do to interrupt the chain of transmission. The organization will use what it learns to help prevent or reduce the impact of future zoonotic disease outbreaks.
