Foreign Animal Disease Survey: Lessons Learned from COVID-19

Kansas State University’s National Agricultural Biosecurity Center conducted a survey with State Animal Health Officials to capture overarching themes, challenges and gaps in the food and animal agriculture space in response to COVID-19. The report includes a summary of foreign animal disease incidents, FDA planning preparations responses, recommendations for an FDA outbreak and recommended solutions to the challenges an FDA outbreak would generate.

Highlights from the survey:

• State departments of agriculture are viewed as the best authority to provide educational materials intended to inform decision makers on the importance of agriculture in the event of a foreign animal disease incident.
• In the event of a national-level foreign animal disease incident, a majority of responders felt there would not be adequate supplies and accessibility of PPE to respond appropriately.
• There is a need for stronger training efforts to preparation for foreign animal disease incidents at the state level.
• Responders viewed lack of understanding the importance of biosecurity planning and limited time to devote to planning as the biggest impediments to widespread adoption of biosecurity plans among livestock producers.
• Responders were not as confident that federal economic support would be made available to support producers through the loss of production and markets during an FAD incident.