RCSA launched its newest Scialog initiative, Mitigating Zoonotic Threats, with a virtual meeting September 30-October 1, 2021. In the planning stages even before the SARS CoV 2 epidemic began, the initiative was sponsored by RCSA and two U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies working together at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility — the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The meeting brought together 75 participants from a variety of disciplines — biology, chemistry, environmental science, computer modeling, ecology, epidemiology, physics, public health and veterinary science — to catalyze new research in the detection and mitigation of emerging animal-borne infectious diseases. Additional support for the initiative came from Walder Foundation.
