USDA to Fund Research on SARS-CoV-2 in Animals
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will disseminate $30 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to address SARS-CoV-2 in animals and advance the nation’s ability to protect the health of humans and animals.
This funding opportunity is part of APHIS’ multipronged approach under its American Rescue Plan Strategic Framework, to build an early warning system to potentially prevent or limit the next zoonotic disease outbreak or global pandemic, APHIS said in a release.
Although the risk of transferring SARS-CoV-2 from animals to humans is low, USDA says it's important to understand the relationship between humans and animals to better prevent, detect, investigate and respond to SARS-CoV-2 in animals. To do this, APHIS will leverage partnerships and utilize external innovations, tools, and capacity to meet this charge from Congress.
"We have a critical opportunity to move the science around SARS-CoV-2 in animals forward and better prepare our country to address the threats this and other emerging diseases pose to animals and humans. We are eager to work with partners through this funding opportunity to achieve those goals,” APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea said in a release.
$25 million will be directed for general cooperative or interagency agreement funding for cooperators within U.S. states and territories, including state and federal agencies, tribal nations, universities, nongovernmental organizations and private entities. Meanwhile, $5 million will specifically assist tribes, tribal organizations and those working on their behalf.
APHIS is targeting projects that will:
• Address gaps in surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in animals
• Determine susceptibility of target animal species to SARS-CoV-2
• Help us understand potential roles of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 in animals
• Develop strategies to rapidly detect and characterize new SARS-CoV-2 variants
• Develop prevention and intervention strategies for SARS-CoV-2 in animals
The funding announcement will be open from Nov. 1, 2022, to Jan. 15, 2023. The tribal funding announcement will be open from Nov. 1, 2022, to Jan 31, 2023. Opportunities will be posted to hthttp://www.Grants.gov.
Editor's Note: APHIS is using a One Health approach and conducting multiple projects under the American Rescue Plan Act aimed at understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 virus behaves in different animals, how it moves between animals and people, and what the Agency can do to interrupt the chain of transmission.
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