USDA Plans Full-Function Foreign Animal Disease Exercise in September

July 10, 2019 — 

In an ongoing effort to prepare the pork industry for a potential foreign animal disease (FAD), the USDA is working on a full-function exercise that will be conducted the week of Sept. 23. The exercise will focus on a fictional outbreak of ASF and the subsequent response by federal and state authorities along with the rest of the pork industry. [Source: National Pork Board, Farm Journal's Pork, 27 June 2019]

The overall purpose of this exercise is to better prepare the U.S. pork industry and its stakeholders in the event of an actual FAD outbreak. Per the USDA's Veterinary Services overview, this functional exercise will focus on exercising plans, policies, procedures, and staff members involved in management, direction, command, and control functions.

During the exercise, participants will validate and evaluate capabilities, multiple functions/sub-functions, or interdependent groups of functions; they will also respond to an exercise scenario with event updates in a realistic, real-time environment. In addition, participants will assess the adequacy of response plans and re-sources. The exercise simulates deployment of resources and personnel, involves rapid problem solving, creates a highly stressful environment and involves multiple functions.

"Everything in this type of exercise is done for a reason," says Dave Pyburn, DVM, senior vice president of the National Pork Board's science and technology department. "We're trying to create a realistic scenario of a confirmed foreign animal dis-ease in this country to see how each stakeholder reacts and to find the gaps that need more work. It's about finding ways to improve protection of our nation's swine herd."

To find out if your state is participating in this exercise, contact your state pork association office.