This cooperative agreement is directed toward accomplishing the following objectives addressed below: • a cooperative relationship between the mississippi board of animal health, (the recipient) and…

The Mississippi Board of Animal Health received $481,063 in federal funding through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025). The award, effective April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026, supports a collaborative partnership to conduct national animal disease surveillance and response activities. Key deliverables include investigating, controlling, and eliminating emerging, re-emerging, endemic, zoonotic, and foreign animal diseases affecting agriculture; collecting diagnostic samples to meet state-level goals established in the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) National Sampling Plan; and conducting epidemiologic investigations including disease response activities such as trace-back investigations, post-exposure monitoring, and appropriate animal disposal.

Additionally, the agreement requires the Mississippi Board of Animal Health to provide comprehensive education and outreach to state, tribal, and federal veterinary medical officers, animal health technicians, animal identification coordinators, and other animal health officials regarding animal disease surveillance plans and program activities. The recipient will also conduct outreach with accredited veterinarians and livestock producers to encourage sample submissions supporting national surveillance objectives. These coordinated efforts are designed to meet the surveillance, preparedness, response, and outreach needs necessary to protect American agriculture and accomplish APHIS Veterinary Services mission goals.

This cooperative agreement is directed toward accomplishing the following objectives addressed below: • a cooperative relationship between the mississippi board of animal health, (the recipient) and the united states department of agriculture (USDA), animal and plant health inspection service (aphis), veterinary services (VS). • mission-related goals, objectives, and anticipated objectives as well as the approach for conducting national surveillance and response for animal health activities and the related roles and responsibilities of the parties (e.g. mutual roles, VS role(s), and recipient role) as negotiated. • meet the needs for surveillance, preparedness, response, and outreach necessary to protect american agriculture and accomplish VS mission goals. • provide education to state, tribal, and federal veterinary medical officers (vmos), animal health technicians (ahts), animal identification coordinators (aics), and other appropriate animal health officials to assure full understanding of all animal disease surveillance plans and associated program activities, including conducting quality epidemiologic investigations. • conduct outreach and education with accredited veterinarians and producers to encourage sample submissions in support of national surveillance goals and sample collection targets. • conduct epidemiologic investigations in accordance with animal health program regulations and program standards including disease response activities such as cleanup, trace back investigations, post exposure monitoring, testing, and disposal of high risk animals/herds, as appropriate. Activities to be performed. This cooperative agreement will perform the following activities addressed below: • investigate, control and eliminate (when appropriate) emerging, RE-emerging, endemic, zoonotic and foreign diseases that impact animal agriculture. • collect samples to achieve state-level goals defined in the BSE national sampling plan. Collections should represent the three major OIE BSE surveillance streams: clinical suspects (cattle over 12 months of age), emergency slaughter (non-ambulatory over 30 months), and fallen stock (dead over 30 months). • conduct surveillance to meet or exceed the state-of-origin based scrapie surveillance annual sampling minimums for sheep and goats and assist other states in meeting theirs. Including: 1) conduct scrapie surveillance in sheep and goats from higher risk and underrepresented flocks or populations, and higher risk animals such as mature on-farm dead; 2) collect all targeted animals at regulatory scrapie slaughter surveillance (rsss) sites; and 3) maintain current and add new rsss collection sites. • perform and report upon baseline swine surveillance activities as enumerated in the baseline cooperative guidance document - ASF and CSF, PRV-SB, and shpa, reporting data in appropriate VS-assigned databases and/or forms as specified. • develop OH partnerships within the state using methods to promote additional communication and collaboration. Examples include tabletop exercises, after action reviews, and action planning workshops using tools like OH‐smart (available through the VS one health coordination office) to identify needs and gaps and to develop communication and response plans (see surveillance and preparedness and response sections above) for events at the animal‐human‐environment interfaces. Deliverables and expected outcomes. The deliverables and expected outcomes of this cooperative agreement are listed below: • complete data entry (EMRS2, surveillance collaboration services (SCS coreone), nvsl lims, vsls, nahrs/nlrad). • develop and maintain cross-sector communication protocols between one health partners (human, animal, wildlife, and environmental health and other state and local agencies as appropriate) regarding human cases of zoonotic disease and confirmed or suspected cases of zoonotic disease in animals, including livestock and wildlife. • prepare, maintain, and exercise state-level plans, standard operating procedures, response templates, and guidance documents for responding to endemic, foreign, zoonotic, and emerging disease or RE-emerging disease events impacting animal agriculture. • attend all local, state, regional and national meetings to discuss safeguarding animal health with stakeholders • inspect all livestock markets quarterly and ensure animals are identified correctly. • educate stakeholders on foreign animal disease (FAD) clinical signs and encourage prompt reporting of sick cattle, swine, poultry and other livestock animals to officials for investigation. Intended beneficiary(IES). The intended beneficiaries for this cooperative agreement are the following: • MS board of animal health (mbah) • producers • markets • livestock • general public subrecipient activities. Not applicable