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While
we may not all do it, few of us would argue that we benefit greatly from
exercise. Our first thought when it comes to exercise is the regular and
repeated use of a group of muscles. We think of physical activity.
Another
definition for exercise is a drill carried out for training. Another
definition for exercise is "something performed or practiced in
order to improve, develop, or display a specific capability or
skill." No matter how you look at it, exercise does improve things.
When
I became State Veterinarian, it was around the time when the United
Kingdom was going through the devastating foot and mouth disease
outbreak. It became apparent to me that it would be a good idea to
consider how we would respond in Alabama if we had to deal with such a
foreign animal disease.
The
Alabama Department of Agriculture hosted a "table-top"
exercise that included several other state and federal agencies. A
table-top exercise is one in which a scenario is offered and each agency
discusses their roles, responsibilities and actions based on how the
event unfolds. It is fairly interesting to see how much we all depend on
each other to get the job done.
There
are many questions to be answered such as: Are quarantines placed on
individual farms or even larger areas? How do we enforce the quarantine?
Would there be a stop movement placed on certain species of animals? Who
enforces that? Would there be human health concerns? What about carcass
disposal? Where can animals be buried? And the list goes on and on.
That
table-top exercise helped us in developing our emergency preparedness
plans that we have been forming over the past few years. And while our
emergency plans for how to deal with foreign diseases, natural
disasters, and other such events continue to evolve; we realize the
importance of exercising various aspects of our plans. That allows us to
see if what we have put down on paper really works.
Through
our partnership with the State Department of Homeland Security, we have
been able to acquire emergency response equipment and supplies. We are
now in the process of participating in various exercises that involve
our personnel and our emergency response equipment.
Some
of our exercises have only included a very narrow aspect of our plan
such as cleaning and disinfecting. Training in C&D (cleaning and
disinfecting) enables us to leave a contaminated premise without
bringing an infectious agent such as a virus off the premise, thus
preventing further spreading the disease.
We
have had exercises in communications, both among ourselves and with
other agencies. We have also practiced collecting tissue samples while
wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
Depending
on the type agent we may be dealing with, our PPE may include a special
mask that filters the air we breathe preventing us from inhaling such
agents as the Avian Influenza Virus or other viruses, spores or bacteria
that could harm us. The PPE, while protecting us, sometimes make it
difficult to communicate, and certainly difficult to perform such tasks
as taking samples from dead animals. For that reason we sometimes
conduct our field exercises wearing PPE, making it as close to the real
thing as possible.
We
recently conducted an exercise that had our teams going onto a simulated
farm that was, for the purpose of the exercise, suspected to have Avian
Influenza. The exercise included local law enforcement and a HAZMAT
team. The exercise went well.
We
achieved the objectives we had set before the exercise began, but we
also were able to identify areas where we can improve our response. The
exercise made us better prepared in the event of a real disaster.
In
Alabama, a state where livestock and poultry play such an important
role, it is vital to have emergency plans in place. It is equally
important to exercise the plan. During the disaster is not the time to
see if something works….. Now give me twenty push-ups and let’s go
home. |
