The Department of Agriculture is dedicating $300 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to conduct surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonotic diseases that could emerge. The effort looks at susceptible animals and plans to build an early warning system to alert public health partners to potential threats so they can prevent or limit the next global pandemic sooner. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is the lead agency responsible for putting the early warning system in place.
The framework outlines how the agency will focus its efforts to prevent, detect, investigate and respond to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and other emerging and zoonotic diseases that could pose a threat to both people and animals. Establishing an early warning system will require a multi-year effort. USDA will build upon its existing plans to put together a risk-based, comprehensive, integrated disease monitoring and surveillance system domestically, and grow collaboration internationally.
