[Senate Report 119-69]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 174
119th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-69
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VETERINARY SERVICES TO IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH IN RURAL COMMUNITIES ACT
_______
September 29, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 620]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 620) to provide public health veterinary services to
Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations for rabies prevention,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
PURPOSE
S. 620 would authorize the Secretary of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) to use funds for public
health veterinary services and to assign or deploy veterinary
officers from the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS)
Commissioned Corps to prevent and control rabies and other
zoonotic diseases\1\ in Indian Health Service (IHS) Service
areas where those diseases are endemic in wildlife and there is
risk of disease transmission to domestic animals or humans.
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\1\Zoonotic diseases, or zoonoses, are diseases caused by harmful
germs that spread between animals and people. See About Zoonotic
Diseases, U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, https://
www.cdc.gov/one-health/about/about-zoonotic-diseases.html.
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BACKGROUND AND NEED
Veterinary public health services represent a critical and
often overlooked component of human healthcare and disease
prevention. The World Health Organization defines veterinary
public health as ``a component of public health that focuses on
the application of veterinary science as a contribution to the
protection and improvement of human well-being.''\2\ In the
context of the bill's purpose, veterinary services are focused
on protecting human populations from zoonotic diseases
(infections transmitted between animals and humans) and animal-
related injuries.
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\2\Veterinary public health. See Control of Neglected Tropical
Diseases, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, Control of Neglected Tropical
Diseases.
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Rural communities, including those on or near Tribal lands,
often face inadequate access to veterinary services, placing
them at increased risk of injury and exposure to zoonotic
diseases including rabies.\3\ The IHS, whose mission is to
raise the health status of American Indians and Alaska Natives,
does not currently have authority to employ public health
service veterinarians or provide funding for public health
veterinary interventions such as rabies vaccinations or
population control of uncontrolled dogs.\4\ These services,
while directed at animals, are fundamentally human public
health measures that reduce the risk of disease transmission
and injury to the human population. Without this authority, the
IHS is unable to address significant threats to human health in
Tribal communities through proven veterinary public health
approaches. Consequently, Indian Tribes, Tribal health
organizations, and Alaska Native Corporations are also,
therefore, unable enter into Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) contracts or compacts with
the IHS to take over these services.\5\
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\3\Facts about Diseases that Can Spread Between Animals and People,
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/
healthy-pets/diseases/index.html (last visited September 22, 2025).
\4\IHS interprets 25 U.S.C. 1601, et seq. and 25 U.S.C. 13 to
support its position that it lacks authority to hire veterinarians or
provide veterinary services, including spaying, neutering, and rabies
vaccinations.
\5\Pub. L. No. 93-638, 88 Stat. 2203 (1975).
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The public health impact of this gap in services is
substantial. According to testimony from HHS in 2024, over the
past five years, more than 200 American Indian and Alaska
Native patients required hospitalization from dog bite injuries
or attacks at IHS facilities, with the Navajo and Alaska Areas
reporting the highest numbers.\6\ During this same period, over
24,000 patients received ambulatory care for dog bites across
all IHS Service areas. The Navajo, Alaska, Great Plains, and
Phoenix Areas have consistently reported the highest numbers of
bite-related incidents requiring medical attention. Studies
show that Native children face disproportionately higher rates
of dog bite hospitalizations, particularly in Alaska and the
Southwest region, where rates exceed the national average for
children.\7\
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\6\See Legislative Hearing on S. 4365 Before the S. Comm. on Indian
Affs., 118th Cong. (2024) (statement of Melanie Egorin, U.S. Dep't of
Health and Human Services).
\7\Adam Bjork, Dog Bite Injuries among American Indian and Alaska
Native Children, 162 J. of Pediatrics 1270, 1271-72 (2013)
(highlighting the need for consistent veterinary services to address
injury prevention and rabies control in these communities).
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The USPHS Commissioned Corps is one of the nation's eight
uniformed services.\8\ Public Health Service officers serve as
physicians, nurses, dentists, veterinarians, scientists,
engineers, environmental health officers, and other professions
across the federal government with the mission of protecting,
promoting, and advancing the health and safety of the nation.
No officers currently serve as veterinarians within any of the
IHS Service areas.\9\
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\8\See generally U.S. Public Health Service, https://www.usphs.gov/
(last visited September 22, 2025).
\9\Most USPHS Commissioned Corps officers serving as veterinarians
are stationed with the Department of Agriculture, the Centers for
Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, the National
Institutes of Health, or the National Park Service. See Where We Serve,
U.S. Public Health Service, https://www.usphs.gov/about-us (last
visited March 28, 2025). According to the Congressional Research
Service, there is one USPHS Commissioned Corps officer serving as a
veterinarian detailed to IHS, however, that officer serves in an
administrative role within IHS Headquarters. See generally
Veterinarian, U.S. Public Health Service, https://www.usphs.gov/
professions/veterinarian (last visited September 22, 2025).
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USPHS environmental health officers have served as liaisons
between the armed forces and Tribes during Department of
Defense training missions, transporting Army veterinary
officers to Tribal communities to provide general veterinary
care and rabies vaccinations.\10\ However, these services do
not always extend to more complicated services, such as spaying
and neutering to control dog populations.\11\ Because the IHS
does not offer veterinary services, and the United States
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) is limited to controlling zoonotic
diseases within wildlife populations, Tribes have had to rely
on non-profit organizations, local health organizations, and
state lay vaccinator programs to address public health risks
from zoonotic disease transmission.\12\
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\10\See U.S. Public Health Service, 2010 Operation Arctic Care,
U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE COMMISSIONED CORPS, https://dcp.psc.gov/
ccbulletin/articles/Operation_
Arctic_Care_10_2010.aspx.
\11\Fort Sill Cannoneer staff, Soldiers help Tribes fight rabies,
U.S. Army (June 20, 2011), https://www.army.mil/article/60085/
soldiers_help_tribes_fight_rabies.
\12\See Legislative Hearing on S. 4365 Before the S. Comm. on
Indian Affs., 118th Cong. (2024) (statement of Brian Lefferts, Yukon
Kuskokwim Health Corporation); Legislative Hearing on S. 4365 Before
the S. Comm. on Indian Affs., 118th Cong. (2024) (statement of Melanie
Egorin, U.S. Dep't of Health and Human Services).
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As a result, Tribes face limited and inconsistent access to
these preventive public health services that, while delivered
through veterinary interventions, are designed to protect human
health. In absence of these services, Tribal communities remain
at heightened risk for zoonotic disease transmission and
animal-related injuries. The current regulatory framework
creates a separation between human and animal health that fails
to recognize the ``One Health'' approach endorsed by major
public health organizations worldwide, which acknowledges the
interconnection between human health, animal health, and the
environment. S. 620 would apply the One Health approach to
advance public health preparedness.
SUMMARY
S. 620 authorizes the Secretary of HHS to use funds to
provide public health veterinary services directly by the
agency or under ISDEAA self-determination contracts and self-
governance compacts and funding agreements. The legislation
would authorize the Secretary to assign or deploy veterinary
officers from the USPHS to prevent and control rabies and other
zoonotic disease transmission in IHS Service areas where the
risk for disease occurrence between humans, wildlife, and
domestic animals is endemic. The bill also requires the USDA
APHIS to study the delivery of oral rabies vaccinations in
Arctic regions of the United States and adds the IHS Director
to the coordination of the One Health framework.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 620 was introduced by Senators Murkowski and Heinrich,
on February 18, 2025, with Senators Peters and Schatz as
original cosponsors.
In the 118th Congress, a similar bill, S. 4365, was
introduced by Senator Murkowski on May 16, 2024. Senators
Schatz and Heinrich later joined as cosponsors. The Committee
held a hearing on S. 4365 on July 10, 2024 (S. Hrg. 118-530).
On July 25, 2024, the Committee held a business meeting and
ordered the bill to be reported favorably with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute (S. Rept. 118-248).
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in an open business
meeting on March 5, 2025, by a majority voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 620, without
amendment.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1--Short title
This section sets forth the short title as the ``Veterinary
Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act.''
Section 2--Sense of Congress
This section sets forth a sense of Congress that HHS and
IHS are uniquely suited to address zoonotic disease threats in
Native communities by providing public health veterinary
services.
Section 3--Public Health Veterinary Services
This section amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act
(IHCIA) by adding a new section, titled ``Public Health
Veterinary Services.'' This new section--
Establishes definitions for public health
veterinary services and zoonotic disease;
Authorizes the Secretary of HHS, acting
through the IHS, to expend funds for public health
veterinary services to prevent and control zoonotic
disease infection and transmission in IHS Service areas
where the risk for disease occurrence in humans and
wildlife is endemic--directly or through self-
determination contracts or self-governance compacts;
Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to assign or
deploy veterinary public health officers from the
Commissioned Corps of the USPHS to IHS Service areas;
Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to
coordinate and implement activities with the Director
of the CDC and the Secretary of Agriculture; and
Directs the Secretary of HHS to submit a
biennial report to Congress on program implementation.
Section 4--APHIS Wildlife Services study on oral rabies vaccines in
arctic regions of the United States
This section requires the Secretary of Agriculture to
conduct a feasibility study within one year of enactment of the
Act on the delivery of oral rabies vaccines to wildlife
reservoir species directly connected to the transmission of
rabies to Tribal members living in Arctic regions of the United
States, on the efficacy of these vaccines, and on
recommendations to improve delivery of these vaccines. This
study will focus on the identified wildlife reservoir species,
including the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), in the Arctic
regions of Alaska.
Section 5--One Health Framework
This section amends the Prepare for and Respond to Existing
Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act by directing
the Secretary of HHS, acting through the Director of the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to coordinate with the
Director of the IHS (in addition to the Secretary of
Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior) and develop the
federal government's One Health framework.\13\
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\13\In 2009, the CDC's One Health Office was established and
located within the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious
Diseases at CDC. The One Health Office works with partners to prevent
the spread of zoonotic diseases, to respond to outbreaks and public
health emergencies, and to protect people from diseases that can be
transmitted from pets. See About CDC's One Health Office, Center for
Disease Control, https://www.cdc.gov/one-health/php/about/index.html
(last visited September 22, 2025).
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COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
S. 620 would authorize the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), acting through the Indian Health Service (IHS),
to provide veterinary services to prevent and control zoonotic
(animal to human) disease transmission. HHS would be required
to report biennially to the Congress on those services, as well
as on data from surveillance of zoonotic disease transmission.
In addition, the bill would require the Department of
Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to
study the delivery of oral rabies vaccines to wildlife
reservoir species that are implicated in rabies transmission to
tribal members in Arctic regions of the United States.
Using information from IHS, CBO expects that under the
bill, the agency would employ 18 veterinarians to cover its 12
service regions at a cost of $14 million over the 2025-2030
period and $46 million over the 2025-2035 period. CBO estimates
that the costs of implementing the bill's reporting
requirements would be insignificant for HHS and that the
Department of Agriculture's vaccine studies would cost $1
million over the 2025-2035 period. Any related spending would
be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall
within budget functions 350 (agriculture) and 550 (health).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 620
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2025- 2025-
2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2030 2035
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Veterinary Services and Reports:
Estimated Authorization................................ 0 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 14 46
Estimated Outlays...................................... 0 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 14 46
USDA Vaccine Studies:
Estimated Authorization................................ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Estimated Outlays...................................... 0 * * 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Total Changes:
Estimated Authorization............................ 0 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 15 47
Estimated Outlays.................................. 0 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 15 47
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USDA = Department of Agriculture; * = between zero and $500,000.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Erik
O'Donoghue (for the Department of Agriculture) and Robert
Stewart (for the Indian Health Service). The estimate was
reviewed by Emily Stern, Senior Adviser for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 620 will
have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
EXECUTIVE TESTIMONY AND COMMUNICATIONS
The testimonies provided by the U.S. Department of the
Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service from the
July 10, 2024 hearing on S. 4365 follow:
statement of dr. melanie anne egorin, assistant secretary for
legislation, u.s. department of health and human services
S. 4365--Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural
Communities Act
Good afternoon Chair Schatz, Vice Chair Murkowski, and
Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to
provide testimony on an important legislative proposal before
your Committee, and for your continued support of the Indian
Health Service (IHS) and efforts from the Department of Health
and Human Services to improve the health and well-being of
American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). Your consideration
today of S. 620, the Veterinary Services to Improve Public
Health in Rural Communities Act underscores that commitment to
improving the quality of life in Indian Country.
I am Melanie Anne Egorin, the Assistant Secretary for
Legislation (ASL) at the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS or Department). My office serves as the primary
link between the Department and Congress. The Office of the ASL
provides technical assistance on legislation to Members of
Congress and their staff, facilitates informational briefings
relating to Department programs to support policy development
by Congress, and supports implementation of legislation passed
by Congress. It is a pleasure to join the Committee again, as
we work together to combat the public health challenges in
tribal communities.
Background
The Department and the IHS agree that the increase of
injuries and zoonotic disease spread by domesticated and wild
animals in Indian Country represents a significant public
health issue for tribal members in these rural communities.
There are an estimated 70 million stray dogs and cats in the
U.S., Tribal Lands, and territories, which contribute to
traumatic events and injuries, zoonotic disease spread, and
road traffic accidents. In recent years, free-roaming domestic
animals have contributed to rabies outbreaks on Tribal lands,
human deaths due to zoonotic diseases, and severe injury and
death due to mauling.
The Department is working as a whole through diverse
offices and mission areas to address the public health concerns
related to zoonotic diseases, including rabies. The IHS already
coordinates with and assists tribes with animal population
control efforts to the extent practicable within its
authorities. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and the Commissioned Corps of the United
States Public Health Service (USPHS) help to lead Department
efforts on the national surveillance of and education about
rabies and other zoonotic diseases.
The IHS operates its mission, in partnership with AI/AN
tribal communities, through a network of over 600 federal and
tribal health facilities and 41 Urban Indian Organizations that
are located across 37 states and provide health care services
to approximately 2.87 million AI/AN people annually.
As you may know, appropriated funds to the IHS are used to
provide health care to IHS-eligible AI/ANs--the IHS' defined
service population. The Department and the IHS have worked hard
to prioritize resources provided by Congress to ensure that
patients have access to accessible--and affordable--quality
care. The IHS works hard every day to ensure that limited
resources are used wisely to ensure the greatest impact on its
defined service population--from direct care services to
sanitation and facilities construction, and health care
facilities construction.
While it recognizes the importance of this emerging threat
to Indian Country, the IHS has to balance its limited resources
to deliver direct services to its defined population while
combating a number of unique public health issues facing Indian
Country, including the fentanyl and opioid crisis, the maternal
mortality crisis, domestic and interpersonal violence, and high
diabetes rates--to name a few. The Biden Harris Administration
has advocated for additional resources to combat these growing
threats in Indian Country and is committed to fighting to
reduce health disparities impacting tribal members.
IHS Health Issues Related to Rabies Incidents in Rural
Communities
The IHS has examined first-hand and heard directly from
tribes about the real public health risk from the high rates of
dog bite injuries in AI/AN communities. Over the past five
years, there have been over 200 patients hospitalized from dog
bite injuries or attacks at IHS clinics. The Navajo and Alaska
Areas have had the highest number of bites requiring
hospitalizations. During that same period, there were over
24,000 patients receiving ambulatory care from dog bites. The
Navajo, Alaska, Great Plains, and Phoenix Areas have had the
highest numbers of bite-related hospitalizations over the last
5 years.
The IHS has also heard from tribes--especially from those
in Northern Alaska--who are desperate for assistance addressing
the problem at its source. A multitude of challenges have
created a perfect storm for risk of injury and disease spread
from animals in especially rural areas. AI/ANs living on
reservations often have little to no access to veterinary care.
Gaps exist in the availability of free rabies vaccines to rural
pets, resulting in a higher risk of rabies exposure in humans
and animals. The lack of regular parasite control for pets in
these areas has led to an increased risk of exposure to
transmissible parasites to human beings. There is also a lack
of access to veterinary spay-neuter surgery to reduce unplanned
litters, which has led to an overpopulation of strays and
abandoned dogs--thus increasing exposure to disease, parasite
infestation, and dog bites.
The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(ISDEAA) only authorizes contracts for certain programs
prescribed by Congress. As the Committee knows, the IHS'
foundational purpose is to provide health care for AI/ANs. IHS'
authorizing statutes do not currently convey authority to carry
out veterinary services. As IHS does not have the authority,
there is no authority for a tribal health program to add the
activity to its ISDEAA agreement.
HHS Public Health Surveillance, Education, and Partnerships
Within their authorities, the IHS, the CDC, and USPHS
collaborate in careful coordination with other tribal, federal,
state, county, and external partners to reduce the risk of
zoonotic disease spread in Indian Country. The IHS Division of
Environmental Health Services staff work on surveillance,
training, and capacity building, and have been involved for
decades with novel vector borne and zoonotic diseases not
previously identified in Indian Country. This Division has
implemented Hantavirus and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
prevention strategies, conducted arbovirus surveillance and
risk reduction strategies, and assisted tribal communities in
the development of and adoption of lay vaccinator programs for
rabies virus. It has also coordinated with outside partners to
facilitate the delivery of spay, neuter, and rabies clinics for
domestic dogs and cats. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Animal and Plant Inspection Service has collaborated with the
IHS Division of Environmental Health Services at the local
level as needed on zoonotic disease prevention or risk factor
reduction projects.
The CDC collects data on domestic human rabies cases and
conducts near real-time animal rabies surveillance in 54
jurisdictions, including Alaska, through the National Rabies
Surveillance System. No Tribal communities have their own
rabies laboratories and therefore they rely on relevant state
laboratories for all testing. This may present a barrier to
sample collection, testing, and reporting, which further
obscures the burden of rabies in these communities. The CDC has
conducted several surveillance evaluations to characterize
rabies risks in Tribal Lands. In several high-risk Tribal
communities in the southwestern U.S., rabies testing and
reporting rates are up to 15-times lower compared to their
adjacent non-Tribal communities.
An evaluation of the risk of rabies re-introduction into
the U.S. found that the highest risk is in Tribal Lands where
free roaming dog populations remain a major public health
issue. It was found that the Navajo Nation is home to
approximately 250,000 free roaming dogs, with many remaining
unvaccinated against rabies. Rabies risk mapping performed by
CDC, which considers road connectivity, urbanicity, and human-
to-unvaccinated dog ratios found that up to 185,000
unvaccinated dogs likely reside in areas that could support and
sustain dog-to-dog transmission of rabies. This highlights the
realistic potential for reintroduction of dog-mediated rabies
or spillover from local rabies reservoir wildlife in the Navajo
Nation. These findings likely reflect similar vulnerabilities
in other Tribal Lands across the United States.
S. 4365, Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in
Rural Communities Act
The Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural
Communities Act would amend the Indian Health Care Improvement
Act to combat zoonotic disease outbreaks and advance public
health preparedness for Native communities, Alaska Native
villages, or Indian reservations, including by providing spay
and neuter services and vaccinations for animals.
S. 620 would authorize the Secretary to expend funds for
public health veterinary services to prevent and control
zoonotic disease infection and transmission in IHS Service
areas where the risk for disease occurrence in humans and
wildlife is endemic. The bill would also enable the Secretary
to deploy veterinary public health officers from USPHS to IHS
Service areas to combat, prevent and control zoonotic disease
infection and transmission in IHS Service areas where the risk
is endemic.
The proposed legislation also mandates the Secretary and
IHS to coordinate with the Director of the CDC, and the
Secretary of Agriculture. Further, the bill would require the
Secretary of HHS to submit to certain Committees in Congress on
a biennial basis, a report on the use of funds, the assignment
and deployment of veterinary public health officers from the
USPHS, data related to the monitoring and disease surveillance
of zoonotic diseases, and related services provided under the
proposed legislation. Finally, S. 620 would amend the Prepare
for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and
Pandemics Act, to include the Director of the IHS, in the ``One
Health framework.''
Controlling the pet population would decrease the incidence
of dog bites, which have caused an increase of injuries and
deaths on Tribal Lands. This bill would potentially limit the
incidence and spread of zoonotic diseases and also allow people
to walk safely in their communities. The Department shares the
same goal as the drafters--to combat zoonotic disease spreading
in IHS Service areas and ensure that tribal members throughout
Indian Country are protected with robust public health outbreak
prevention. Like the bill's drafters, the Department and IHS
are looking to improve response to any zoonotic related disease
and improve safety in tribal communities.
That being said, the bill, in its current form, does not
include any additional resources for the Department to stand up
a new program without compromising its efforts to provide
direct care or combat other emergent public health challenges
in Indian Country. The legislation could include language to
authorize such sums that may be necessary to provide these
services in Indian Country and the Appropriations Committees
could then be able to decide whether to fund these new
activities.
We look forward to continuing our work with Congress on
improving the health of AI/AN populations including the issues
related to this bill. As always, HHS welcomes the opportunity
to provide technical assistance as requested by the Committee
or its members.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today, and I
am happy to answer any questions the Committee may have.
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Dr. Michael Watson, Administrator of the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, on
S. 4365, and the following testimonies in its entirety were
submitted for the record:
written statement of dr. michael watson, administrator, animal and
plant health inspection service u.s. department of agricuture
Thank you for the opportunity to provide written testimony
to discuss our rabies management program and S. 4365, the
Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural
Communities Act.
Rabies is a serious disease of wildlife in the United
States that can have a significant impact on human and animal
health. If left untreated, it has a 100% fatality rate in
humans and kills almost 60,000 people around the world each
year. Thankfully, compulsory pet vaccination laws and mass
vaccination campaigns have eliminated the canine variant of
rabies from wild and domestic animals in the United States.
However, there are several other variants in wildlife,
including raccoon rabies in the east and Arctic fox rabies in
Alaska.
Since 1997, acting through its Wildlife Services program,
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and its
National Rabies Management Program have led Federal efforts to
control the virus in wildlife, thereby protecting domestic
animals and the public. APHIS activities include:
Conducting enhanced rabies surveillance as a
complement to public health surveillance to better
understand where the disease is, allowing us to better
focus our control and elimination efforts.
Distribution of oral rabies vaccines to
create a zone free of disease and moving these rabies-
free zones appropriately.
Conducting research to increase scientific
knowledge and to better inform rabies management
strategies.
Coordinating on effective strategies for
rabies elimination with all partners, collaborators,
and stakeholders in the U.S. and with partner agencies
in Canada and Mexico.
The oral rabies vaccination program is the key to expanding
U.S. rabies-free zones. Each year, APHIS drops approximately 8
million oral rabies vaccination baits in 13 eastern states,
from Maine to Alabama, creating a rabies-free zone that
prevents the spread of raccoon rabies further westward.
In urban and suburban areas, APHIS and cooperators
distribute vaccine bait by helicopter or vehicles. In rural
areas, APHIS typically distributes vaccine bait from a plane.
When a raccoon bites into the vaccine bait, the packet
ruptures, allowing the vaccine to coat the animal's mouth and
throat. Animals that receive an adequate dose of the vaccine
develop antibodies against rabies. As the number of vaccinated
animals in a population increases, disease transmission
decreases, creating an ``immunity barrier'' to stop the further
spread of rabies.
Although raccoon vaccination is our largest rabies
prevention effort, APHIS helped the Texas Department of State
Health Services successfully eliminate canine rabies in coyotes
in 2004. Our efforts using oral rabies vaccination also reduced
the spread and eventually eliminated a unique variant of the
disease in gray foxes. In Arizona, APHIS works on a variety of
collaborative rabies research and management projects focused
on gray foxes, skunks, and bats, as well as free-ranging dogs
on tribal lands.
Alaska has a unique variant of rabies in Artic foxes. It
has a broad circumpolar distribution throughout North America,
Europe, and Asia. In Alaska, rabies outbreaks routinely occur
during winter and the number of red foxes with this variant has
increased over the past decade. This observation, along with
modeling, suggests regional warming trends may be associated
with increased contact rates and transmission between Arctic
and red foxes. We currently do not have a rabies vaccination
program targeting Arctic foxes due in part to the remote
geographic area this variant encompasses. There are also
challenges with Arctic fox behavior, including their large home
ranges, distance they travel, and varying behavior in summer
and winter.
But the bill before us today understands these challenges
and would accordingly direct APHIS to conduct a more in-depth
study of the viability of a wildlife rabies control program in
Arctic regions. This would allow us to work with our state,
tribal, and other partners to identify the potential barriers
for a successful program and possible mitigations for those
impediments.
Ontario, Canada, successfully eliminated Arctic fox rabies
in red foxes in southern Ontario, but the situation in Alaska
will be different. Better understanding the unique challenges
of Alaska, the different species involved and their ecology,
will be important. In Alaska, we would most likely need to use
selective intervention with oral rabies vaccine in and around
remote communities. This will not eliminate arctic fox rabies
in red foxes or Arctic foxes, but instead would likely be part
of an integrated rabies prevention and control strategy carried
out in cooperation with the Indian Health Service and other
partners.
A few thoughts and concerns for consideration:
The study focuses on potential management
strategies to reduce the risk of transmission to Tribal
members in Arctic regions, which would only include the
northernmost parts of the state, and probably excluding
fox populations in other areas of the state.
The study targets fox species, but we know
that the disease is also transmitted through domestic
animals, such as unowned or difficult to capture dogs.
We have had success with orally vaccinating dogs in
other areas including free ranging dogs. Implementation
of similar strategies could strengthen rabies
prevention and control efforts in remote communities.
While we appreciate the study, it is very
likely to identify the need for a valuable program to
protect the health and safety of native Alaskans.
However, without resources for a program, it is highly
unlikely that APHIS will be able to implement a program
that stands any chance of success. Further, diverting
resources from other regions could potentially erase
years of success with virus control and local
elimination elsewhere.
Under the sections authorizing the use of
public health officers, it may be helpful to include
mention of USDA or APHIS such that future control
activities could be coordinated or conducted with
assistance from our Wildlife Services program.
Thank you again for the opportunity to discuss this
important program.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In the opinion of the Committee, it is necessary to
dispense with the requirements of subsection 12 of rule XXVI of
the Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite business of the
Senate.