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Good Emergency Management Practice: The Essentials
vals between outbreaks because of their professional positions. This group should meet regularly, e.g. weekly, according to the requirements of the situation. Epidemiology group: The epidemiology group consists of trained epidemiologists. It should have staff at the NDCC and LDCC levels and is responsible for the collection and analysis of epidemiological data – a key tool in understanding the progress of the disease and the effectiveness of the control programme. It is recommended that potential members of this group be identified between outbreaks and that they receive regular specialist training and undertake practice investigations and analysis in “peacetime” to ensure a sufficient cadre of well-trained staff available from the first days of an outbreak. They may be government, university or even private veterinarians. The skills in epidemiology they develop through this programme will help to strengthen their normal day-to-day work for the government or other institutions. Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases: Countries may find it very useful to establish a CCEAD which can be convened as soon as there is a disease or other animal health emergency and which can meet regularly during the course of the emergency response. This would be principally a technical committee whose role would be to review epidemiological and other disease-control information, make recommendations concerning the activation of agreed contingency plans, maintain an oversight over the campaign and advise the CVO and the minister on the future planning of the campaign and on implementation of those plans. A suggested composition of the CCEAD might be: • CVO (serving as Chairman); • Director of Field Veterinary Services/Director of Disease Control; • Head of the Epidemiological Unit, Import/Export Unit and Animal Welfare Unit; • Directors of State, Provincial or Regional Veterinary Services; • Director of the National Veterinary Laboratory; • Director of Meat Inspection/Animal Products Control; • Director of any regional veterinary laboratories covering the outbreak areas; • Senior representatives of farmer groups or organizations affected by the outbreak; • Representatives of other key groups, e.g. National Veterinary Association, universities; • Other technical experts, as required (e.g. wildlife, environmental protection, risk communication). If the command structure recommended above cannot be implemented for one reason or another, it becomes more essential that a CCEAD be established so that there can be a consensus approach to the conduct of the emergency response campaign. All these stakeholder and advisory groups may seem like a very time-consuming and complex structure. In reality, they do take time, but the structure should not be complex. Their major function is to maintain collaboration and communication, and these are two of the major tools for achieving effective disease control. They are a productive investment of time; there will be a greater return than there is cost.
Difficult or marginalized areas Countries may be faced with a situation where they have to deal with an outbreak of an epidemic livestock disease outbreak in areas which are difficult to work in by virtue of the
