scholarly journals (A189) The U.S. National Veterinary Stockpile: Science-Based Logistics Improving Animal Disease Response

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s54-s54
Author(s):  
L.M. Myers

BackgroundAgriculture emergency responders always will require equipment and supplies. A rapid and effective logistical response depends upon having the right item in the right quantity at the right time at the right place for the right price in the right condition to the right responder. Established in 2004 by U.S. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9, the National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services is the nation's repository of critical veterinary supplies, equipment, vaccines, and services appropriate to respond to the most damaging animal diseases affecting human health and the economy. An overview of the NVS program, its capabilities, training and exercise strategy, and outreach to stakeholders will be presented.The NVS ProgramThe goals of the NVS program are to deploy countermeasures against the 17 most damaging animal disease threats within 24 hours, and to help states/tribes/territories plan, train, and exercise the receipt, processing, and distribution of NVS countermeasures. To meet these goals, the NVS program heavily relies upon science-based logistics to identify animal vaccines and other countermeasures to respond, and sound business processes to purchase, hold, maintain, and deploy the countermeasures. Significant resources also are dedicated to the NVS outreach activities, which interface directly with federal/state/tribe/territory animal health stakeholders. NVS team members work hand-in-hand with these leaders to help develop written NVS-specific plans for their jurisdictions, provide logistics training, and sponsor discussion-based and operations-based exercises in accordance with the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program.ConclusionThe USDA NVS exists to provide states/tribes/territories the countermeasures they need to respond to catastrophic animal disease outbreaks created by either terrorists or nature. As logistical experts, the NVS team develops plans for logistical emergency response, manages their supply chain of countermeasures, and helps stakeholders improve logistical response capabilities.

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Raghavender ◽  
B. Reddy

Mycotoxins are gaining increasing importance due to their deleterious effects on human and animal health. Chronic health risks are particularly prevalent in India where the diets of the people are highly prone to mycotoxins due to poor harvesting practices, improper storage and transport coupled with high temperature and moisture. This paper reviews disease outbreaks of mycotoxicoses other than aflatoxins in India due to ingestion of mycotoxincontaminated food. Ergotism is one of the earliest known outbreaks of mycotoxins reported in rural areas of western India associated with pearl millet grain. Trichothecenes have been involved in an acute human mycotoxicosis known as alimentary toxic aleukia in India during 1987 and were attributed to the consumption of mouldy wheat. Deoxynivalenol was implicated in an outbreak of emetic syndrome in Kashmir State. An outbreak of acute foodborne disease caused by fumonisin was reported in south India during 1995 affecting 1,424 people due to contaminated sorghum and maize. Rhizopus toxicosis was reported from Maharashtra State and caused the death of three people. These outbreaks continue to be a significant health problem of people in India, because their poor purchasing power compels them to consume contaminated food.


2005 ◽  
Vol 2005 (1) ◽  
pp. 943-948
Author(s):  
Joseph Gleason

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY During the summer of 2004, the First Coast Guard District in Boston, Massachusetts supported both Presidential political nominating conventions for the 2004 election. The Democratic National Convention was held in Boston, Massachusetts on July 26–29, 2004, and the Republican National Convention was held in New York City from August 30th to September 2, 2004. This was the first time both conventions have taken place within the geographic area of responsibility of a single Coast Guard District. The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declared both of these events as National Special Security Events under Presidential Decision Directive 62 (PDD-62). PDD-62 formalized and delineated the roles and responsibilities of federal agencies in the development of security plans for major events. The 2004 Democratic and Republican Conventions were the first political conventions held in the United States since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In the months before the Democratic National Convention, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice stated that there was credible intelligence from multiple sources indicating that al-Qaeda planned to attempt an attack on the United States during the period leading up to the election. (Joint Statement of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Attorney General John Ashcroft on May 28, 2004) The terrorist attacks on the Madrid rail system were a direct attempt by AI Qaeda to influence the elections in Spain, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was going to take all appropriate steps to prevent a similar attack in the United States. (Schmidt and Priest, Washington Post May 26, 2004; Page A02) The 2004 Conventions offered a significant challenge for the Coast Guard and other federal, state, and local agencies that had dual responsibility for coordinating security operations while being prepared to respond to a disaster including oil spills and hazardous substance releases—the combination of what was previously designated as crisis and consequence management under PDD-39. This paper will examine lessons learned from planning and operations in support of the conventions. Having served as the First District Project Officer for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, this paper is written as my observations of the lessons learned and offers some insight into what went well and possible areas for improvement as I observed throughout the more than 18 months of planning for these events of national significance. The Coast Guard planning and operational support for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions demonstrated the importance of a team approach to planning, interagency coordination and partnerships, pre-event preparedness activities, and pre-deploying personnel and resources for response. It is my hope that the observations contained in this paper can benefit federal, state, and local agencies as they prepare for large significant events in the future including National Special Security Events.


2016 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 442-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
KIS ROBERTSON ◽  
ALICE GREEN ◽  
LATASHA ALLEN ◽  
TIMOTHY IHRY ◽  
PATRICIA WHITE ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) works closely with federal, state, and local public health partners to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks associated with its regulated products. To provide insight into outbreaks associated with meat and poultry, outbreaks reported to FSIS during fiscal years 2007 through 2012 were evaluated. Outbreaks were classified according to the strength of evidence linking them to an FSIS-regulated product and by their epidemiological, etiological, and vehicle characteristics. Differences in outbreak characteristics between the period 2007 through 2009 and the period 2010 through 2012 were assessed using a chi-square test or Mann-Whitney U test. Of the 163 reported outbreaks eligible for analysis, 89 (55%) were identified as possibly linked to FSIS-regulated products and 74 (45%) were definitively linked to FSIS-regulated products. Overall, these outbreaks were associated with 4,132 illnesses, 772 hospitalizations, and 19 deaths. Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli was associated with the greatest proportion of reported outbreaks (55%), followed by Salmonella enterica (34%) and Listeria monocytogenes (7%). Meat and poultry products commercially sold as raw were linked to 125 (77%) outbreaks, and of these, 105 (80%) involved beef. Over the study period, the number of reported outbreaks definitively linked to FSIS-regulated products (P =0.03) declined, while the proportion of culture-confirmed cases (P = 0.0001) increased. Our findings provide insight into the characteristics of outbreaks associated with meat and poultry products.


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