Simulation exercise: African swine fever in Australia – 3

Dr Mark Schipp, Chief Veterinary Officer, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Canberra, Australia, informed the OIE that a simulation exercise, Exercise Razorback, on African swine fever will be held in Australia in December 2019.

Exercise Razorback is a series of two emergency preparedness discussion exercises to simulate the response to an incursion of African swine fever. The exercises are aimed at strengthening Australia’s preparedness to respond to an incursion of African swine fever. They will be held on 5 and 9 December 2019.

The exercise scenario is based on a detection of African swine fever in Victoria, Australia. The exercises will cover emergency response decision making by the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases (CCEAD) and the National Emergency Animal Disease Management Group (NMG).

The objectives of the discussion exercises are to:

• Test application of Australia’s emergency animal disease response arrangements in the early stages of a simulated outbreak of African swine fever
• Practice consensus decision-making in a simulated, cost-shared emergency animal disease (ASF) response
• Develop the capability of personnel participating in CCEAD and NMG in a simulated cost-shared (ASF) response.

Further African swine fever emergency preparedness exercises are planned for 2020.

For more information about Exercise Razorback contact the National Exercise Planning Team in the Australian Government Department of Agriculture by emailing [email protected]

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World Animal Health Information and Analysis Department
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
[email protected]