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Ohio Department of Agriculture Gets $1 Million for Avian Influenza Equipment; State Says Detections Have Slowed
Summary
The Controlling Board approved a $1,000,000 request for additional equipment related to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The department reported detections have fallen to one in the past two months and said it is comfortable with current funding while continuing federal coordination on vaccines and farmer compensation.
The Ohio Controlling Board approved a $1,000,000 request for equipment related to the state’s response to highly pathogenic avian influenza on May 5.
Representative Tom Sweeney asked for an update on the department’s readiness and the trajectory for full recovery after media reports suggested long-term impacts. Todd Thatcher of the Ohio Department of Agriculture said detections “are really trending in the right direction” and that in the past two months the department has had only one detection in Ohio, down from daily or multiple weekly detections earlier in the year concentrated in Darke and Mercer counties.
Thatcher told the board the department coordinates with federal partners at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that the department is “comfortable where we are at at a funding level right now,” and that discussions about vaccines are primarily a federal-level matter. The board approved item 30 with no recorded objections.
