Public awareness

and Silver commands. A field simulation practises the role of the Silver and Bronze commands and the field staff (i.e. much of the contingency plan and the operations manual). International observers and trained experts should be invited to simulation exercises as evaluators who can provide feedback on the exercise.

response training

All staff should be thoroughly trained in their roles, duties and responsibilities in a disease emergency. More intense training will need to be given to those who will be in key positions. It should also be borne in mind that any staff member, from the CVO downwards, may be absent or may need to be relieved during a disease emergency for one reason or another. Back-up staff should therefore be trained for each position. Experience has shown that emergency management teams perform better when they train and exercise as a team.

simulation exercises

Simulation exercises are extremely useful for testing and refining the contingency plans, including the operations manual (e.g. SOPs), in advance of any disease emergency. They are also a very valuable means of building teams for emergency disease responses and for training individual staff.

The scenarios devised for the exercises should be as realistic as possible, using real data where possible (e.g. for livestock locations, populations and trading routes). The scenario may cover one or more time phases during the outbreak with a range of various outcomes. However, neither the scenario nor the exercise should be overly complicated or long. It is best to test just one system at a time (e.g. operation of a LDCC). Simulation exercises may be done purely as a ‘paper exercise’ or through mock activities – or as a combination of both approaches. At the completion of each simulation exercise, there should be a ‘postmortem’ or review of the results. This review should identify further training needs as well as required modifications to the contingency plans, including the operations manual.

A full-scale disease outbreak simulation exercise should only be attempted after the individual components of the disease-control response have been tested and proven. Earlier exercises of this nature may be counterproductive. Care must be taken that simulation exercises are not confused with actual outbreaks in the minds of the media and the public. Notice on a planned simulation exercise should be sent to neighbouring countries and international organizations.

Regional or bilateral simulation exercises involving multiple countries can be conducted once national contingency plans have been thoroughly tested. International organizations can assist in coordinating regional exercises.

PublIc awareness

Public awareness campaigns help to maintain vigilance against risks of incursion and knowledge of how to detect and report a disease.

Incursions of infectious disease may be due to either illegal activity, someone making a mistake or unwitting introductions of animals in the incubation period. They are then mostly detected and reported by either the livestock keeper or a private veterinarian called