The UK Government, in partnership with the Devolved Administrations, will be undertaking a real-time simulation of an outbreak of avian influenza disease in poultry in this country on the 5/6 April 2006 in order to check its contingency plans for the control of any such outbreak and those of its agencies and operational partners. This exercise will be the culmination of a programme of smaller tabletop exercises and workshops.
Aim
The aim of Exercise Hawthorn is to review, check and update the Government's current contingency plans for a national outbreak of avian influenza and thereby establish the current state of readiness for such an outbreak whilst identifying improvements in the plans, instructions, structures and procedures employed in managing an outbreak.
Scope
The exercise programme will check the contingency arrangements laid out in Defra's Avian Influenza Contingency Plan through a series of rehearsals and exercises at strategic, tactical and operational levels and will include key operational partners.
The objective is to identify any areas within the plans that require further revision and/or improvement. Where possible, it also seeks to include the associated plans of Defra's key operational partners and those of the Devolved Administrations, in order that a co-ordinated and joined-up approach to the management of an outbreak can be demonstrated.
The programme will culminate in a two day real-time exercise planned for April 2006.
About the Exercise
-- Business case
-- Aims and objectives
-- Deliverables and outcomes
-- Communications plan
How will this be achieved?
The live exercise planned for April 2006 is preceded by a programme of tabletop exercises and workshops which are being held between October 2005 and February 2006. Each of these will focus on a different element of preparedness. This approach aims to focus learning before the actual exercise thus capturing participant's enthusiasm and commitment. In this way we build up our understanding and knowledge, contribute to staff training and encourage the constructive development of policy.
The first exercise within this programme was held on 7 October and focussed on IT/data processes and how they should function during an outbreak of avian influenza disease. Some issues were identified and work has already been commissioned to address these.
A number of tabletop exercises were held to explore the decision-making and communications issues at suspicion and confirmation of disease. The output from the tabletop exercises will be played forward into the final real-time exercise.
Additionally, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency held a desktop exercise to test their initial response to an outbreak and also to project forward a scenario several weeks into an outbreak in order to check capability and capacity issues arising from possible sero-surveillance requirements.
Preparatory exercises were held on the following dates:
January 2006
Suspicion of disease - Tabletop Exercise
February 2006
Confirmation of disease - Tabletop Exercise
February 2006
Initial response/capacity - Desktop Exercise
The cumulative learning and increased emergency preparedness achieved as a result of this programme of exercises will feed into the final live exercise on 5/6 April 2006. The planning and preparatory work, in advance of April, is specifically designed to provide a challenging, well supported scenario with enough detailed data to support a worthwhile national exercise.
Exercise Concept
The exercise provides an opportunity to test contingency plans and operational instructions for dealing with the management of an outbreak of avian influenza in poultry in Great Britain and in particular will examine public health issues arising from the animal disease control operations. The exercise will test a full day of the so called 'battle rhythm' set out in Defra's Exotic Animal Disease Generic Contingency Plan. Appropriate structures will be established including the National and Local Disease Control Centres and a meeting of the Civil Contingencies Committee (Officials) in order to adequately test the three command levels (strategic, tactical and operational) of the contingency plan.
The exercise will operate using the provisions of the new EU Avian Influenza Directive and two recent EU SCOFCAH decisions on protection measures to be applied in the case of avian influenza being found in wild birds or poultry. It should be noted that although the Directive has yet to be transposed into UK law, the control policies examined in the exercise are those that would be applied in the event of an outbreak of AI in this country. Operational Instructions used during the exercise will necessarily reflect this situation but are not those that are currently being used by the State Veterinary Service.
There will be no on-farm activity during the exercise. The exercise play will be confined to the National and Local Disease Control Centres and the Emergency Coordination Centre Wales. There will be no involvement of the military nor will any emergency contracts be invoked.
Outline scenario
Avian influenza is a highly infectious viral disease affecting the respiratory, digestive and/or nervous system of many species of birds. It is caused by a Type A influenza virus. There are two forms of the virus, low pathogenicity (LPAI) and high pathogenicity (HPAI). The virus can be spread by direct contact with secretions from infected birds, especially faeces, contaminated feed, water, equipment and clothing. The disease is not spread through the air.
The exercise scenario is set at the beginning of March in the midst of the annual human flu cycle. The Avian Influenza outbreak affecting poultry will run concurrently with the normal seasonal human flu virus in circulation. The exercise will focus primarily on controls for eradication of the disease from the domestic bird population including reducing the risk of spread within the animal population. It will also test controls for minimising the risk of a human pandemic strain emerging as well as the human occupational health issues arising from a zoonotic infection. The exercise is set three days into an outbreak.
Summary of events up to Day 3 of the simulated outbreak
An outbreak of suspect highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) occurred in a high density, outdoor, free-range production unit in Norfolk. An avian influenza type A virus (H5N1 strain) was identified in laboratory tests and disease was confirmed on Day 0 of the outbreak. The Norfolk farm was confirmed as the first infected premises (IP). In line with intense media coverage of the outbreak a number of additional suspect cases have been reported by farmers, vets and the public to Animal Health Offices across the country. The majority have been negated following initial veterinary inspection. Of those where it was necessary to take samples, interim laboratory results were negative in all cases for notifiable avian disease. However, the outbreak scenario has further progressed with two highly suspect cases being reported on Day 2: a turkey farm in the North of England and a egg production unit in South Wales on the border with England. Preliminary results are expected for both these report cases at the start of the live exercise.
Exercise process - 5/6 April
The National Disease Control Centre will be based in Defra's building at 1A Page Street, London with the tactical level Joint Coordination Centre established on the 8th Floor. Local Disease Control Centres will also be established in State Veterinary Service Animal Health Divisional Offices at Bury St Edmunds, Leeds, Cardiff and Gloucester. During the exercise, participants are expected to perform tasks as outlined in their instructions and plans. Activity will be prompted by messages or 'injects' fed into the exercise by control teams based in each location. These messages will require a response by an individual or team. Participants are expected to follow their instructions and proactively work with other individuals or teams as necessary and as they would in a real outbreak situation. Exercise evaluators will track progress throughout the exercise and record outcomes.
An exercise report identifying lessons to be learned will be published in the summer of 2006.
Exercise Hawthorn is a simulation exercise only - Great Britain is free of Avian Influenza.
defra.uk
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