Simulation exercise: Vesicular diseases in Brazil (State of São Paulo)

Dr Guilherme Henrique Figueiredo Marques, Director of Animal Health Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of Brazil, informed the OIE that a table-top and field simulation exercise on vesicular diseases will take place in the municipalities of Campinas y Nova Odessa, in the State of São Paulo, from 24 to 28 June 2013.

This simulation exercise is part of the monitoring system for vesicular diseases as foreseen in the Contingency Plan for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

Veterinarians from the Veterinary Services of the State of São Paulo, belonging to the GEASE* (Grupo Especial de Atenção às Suspeitas de Enfermedades Emergenciais) will participate in this simulation exercise.

The exercise will be composed of:

• table-top activities during which the participants will be updated and the standardization of procedures for the initial attention to the notification of suspicion of vesicular diseases will be reinforced;
• presentation of acquired experiences with the eradication of FMD outbreaks in the country;
• specific instructions to be enforced when facing a FMD occurrence. This relates to the “emergency” and “conclusions” phases of the Contingency Plan requiring a particular training of the professional team to be ready anytime to implement actions to be undertaken for animal disease emergency.
• Field activities that will consist of collecting biological samples to confirm the laboratory diagnosis of vesicular diseases and the differential diagnosis, in particular the collection of oesophageal-pharyngeal fluid (OPF) and serum samples. A simulation of sending samples to a laboratory will also take place.

^{*Special Group of vigilance on the emergency of suspected diseases}

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