Simulation exercise – Foreign animal disease in Canada

Dr Brian Evans, Chief Veterinary Officer, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Ottawa, Canada, informed the OIE that a table-top simulation exercise on a foreign animal disease (FAD), will take place in the province of Ontario, on 7 September 2011.

The exercise will target the swine industry and has been developed in collaboration with the Ontario Pork Industry Council (OPIC) and Ontario Pork and will focus on the following areas:

• Test the newly developed farm planner which guides producers through a check list of actions in the case of a disease emergency including information sharing with service providers,
•  Create biosecurity and emergency preparedness tools for use within the pork supply chain,
•  Test and measure the effectiveness of communications and responsiveness to assess gaps in the value chain.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will participate in this table-top exercise by advising Industry of the movement control and zoning requirements related to the management of a federally reportable, highly contagious swine disease.

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