Evaluation of the state of Ohio animal disease incident plan : a one health assessment of preparedness for animal disease emergencies
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Animal Disease outbreaks pose significant risks to public health, agriculture, and economic stability, particularly in states with high livestock density and increasing exposure to zoonotic disease threats. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the State of Ohio Animal Disease Incident Plan (2023) and assess its alignment with internationally and federally recognized animal disease preparedness frameworks provided by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). This evaluation addresses the need for state-level preparedness plans to reflect evolving best practices, including integration of One Health principles and measurable preparedness indicators. A qualitative policy analysis and structured program evaluation approach was employed. A rubric-based evaluation tool was developed using guidance from WOAH, FAO and USDA APHIS. Ohio’s plan was systematically assessed across six key preparedness domains, including surveillance, incident command, epidemiologic investigations, biosecurity, zoonotic disease integration and risk communications. Each indicator within these domains was scored using a three-point Likert scale, and a complementary SWOT analysis was conducted to contextualize internal and external factors. The findings indicate strong alignment in incident command and governance, biosecurity and communications, reflecting well-established structural components of preparedness. Moderate alignment was observed in surveillance and zoonotic disease integration, where elements were present, but varied in operational detail. Lower alignment was identified in epidemiologic investigation, where indicators were minimally discussed or not addressed at all. Overall, the Ohio Animal Disease Incident Plan provides a solid structural foundation for emergency response, but demonstrates opportunities for improvement in operational specificity, cross-sector integration, and epidemiologic investigation. This project contributes a systematic and reproducible framework for evaluating animal disease preparedness plans and offers evidence-based recommendations to strengthen veterinary public health preparedness at the state level.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License.