The U.S. agricultural community is accelerating its efforts to prepare to respond 

 to a potentially major epidemic by reaching out to the emergency management 

 community. This outreach involves learning and using the NIMS as well as building 

 partnerships with other emergency management agencies and groups for coordinated 

 responses to various emergency scenarios. Such partnerships are vital to planning for 

 the mobilization of large-scale human and material resources to address potentially 

 catastrophic animal health emergencies. 



One key component of NIMS is the Incident Command System (ICS), which is the 

 managerial and organizational structure NIMS provides for use with emergencies 

 that may increase in size or evolve in complexity — whether within a few hours or over 

 several days, weeks, or months. 



Animal Emergency Response Organizations (AEROs) 



To minimize the danger of a catastrophic multi-State FAD outbreak, APHIS, in 

 cooperation with its State and industry partners, is expanding the United States' 

 abUity to respond to any animal emergency by developing State-level AEROs that 

 are nationally coordinated. These organizations, which draw upon the principles 

 of NIMS, are designed to integrate easily with each State's emergency management 

 system as well as the new National Response Plan under which agencies will mobilize 

 to support State and local authorities in addressing such emergencies. 



Through AEROs, prequalified specialists (trained in both animal health and 

 emergency management principles) will stand ready to respond rapidly and 

 efficiently as needed to eradicate an FAD or respond to other animal emergencies 

 swifdy and efficiently. These specialists will work in teams and will travel as necessary 

 to various locations within their State and be available to help other States as well. 



FAD Recognition and Initial Response 



The local veterinary practitioner, who routinely first detects the possible presence 

 of an FAD, is one of the most important figures in the Government-veterinarian- 

 producer partnership formed to prevent and respond to FADs. The veterinarian's 

 alertness to the possibility of serious disease and prompt action in notif)'ing the 

 APHIS-VS Area Office or State animal health officials can mean the difference 

 between immediate disease containment and a protracted control and eradication 

 effort involving large-scale economic consequences and possibly requiring years to 

 complete. Once the notification is made, an FAD diagnostician (State or Federal) 

 visits the premises, investigates the report, and takes samples. On the basis of 

 results of this analysis, the FAD diagnostician makes a field diagnosis, initiates 

 appropriate control measures, ships tissue samples to the National Veterinary Services 

 Laboratories (NVSL), and informs the APHIS-VS Area Office or State animal 

 health officials. 



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