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Foreign Animal Disease Presentations and Preparedness Meetings

Foreign Animal Diseases: Health Emergencies and Continuity Crushers Presentations

Foreign Animal Diseases (FADs) represent a threat to our mission of connecting the public to the natural world through our animals.  Whether an FAD directly causes disease in the collection, or if movement restrictions prevent breeding recommendations, our business continuity will be affected.  This session, presented at the AZA Annual Conference in San Diego, CA, brought several institutions together to discuss their experiences with preparedness for Foreign Animal Disease, including ‘lessons learned’ from the 2014-2015 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak in the US.

Individual presentations from this session can be viewed below:

–   Size Doesn’t Matter! Even Small to Medium Sized Zoos can Build BIG Relationships that Lead to Comprehensive Foreign Animal Disease Outbreak Preparedness Julie Barnes,  DVM, Director of Animal Health, Santa Barbara Zoo

–   Updates on Foot and Mouth Disease Preparedness for the Exotic Animal Industry – Yvonne Nadler, Program Manager, ZAHP Fusion Center

There’s something in the Wind: Great Plains Zoo’s Response to the 2014 – 2015 HPAI Outbreak – Lisa Smith, Senior Director of Animal Programs, Great Plains Zoo

–  Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza – Testing Response Plans the Hard Way –  Bruce Rideout, Michael Mace, Donald Janssen, David Rimlinger, and Nadine Lamberski, San Diego Zoo Global

 

National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Meeting

 Drs. Yvonne Nadler and Jimmy Tickel attended a break out session at the recent National Association of State Departments of Agriculture meeting in Omaha, Nebraska where the ZAHP Fusion Center was asked to speak to attendees about the exotic animal industry and all-hazards preparedness.  The industry preparedness for highly pathogenic avian influenza was discussed, and Dr. Tickel continued the foreign animal disease discussion with updates on the Fusion Center’s Secure Zoo Strategy.  Secure Zoo is a platform for prevention for Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD).  In the next several months, some key updates will be made to the Secure Zoo website which will provide guidance, templates and self-assessment tools for FMD prevention. See the Secure Zoo website at www.securezoostrategy.org for more information.

The agricultural officials were very engaged, and recognized that zoological institutions must be considered in their planning efforts!  Don’t be surprised if they reach out to YOU for more information about your collections and planning.

 

National Preparedness Roundtable 

The ZAHP Fusion Center was privileged to attend the White House National Preparedness Roundtable, which was held September 28th.  This meeting shared some key results of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 2016 National Preparedness Report.  Great strides have been made in preparedness, but there is always work to do to make our Country more resilient. The roundtable was a chance to network and provide feedback on the report.  View the report at: https://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-report