Simulation exercise: Foot and mouth disease in Australia-11

1 to 3 June 2011

Dr Andy Carroll, Chief Veterinary Officer, Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Canberra, informed the OIE that a training simulation exercise on foot and mouth disease, called ‘Exercise Golden Fleece’, will take place in South Australia from 1 to 3 June 2011. The exercise will include field visits to farms and sale yards in rural South Australia but no control centre will be set up.

This training exercise will involve the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Animal Health Australia and the National Rapid Response Team (RRT). The RRT is a team of about 50 experienced emergency animal disease response personnel from all jurisdictions of Australia who would fill key management positions in control centres in the event of an outbreak response.

The aims of this exercise are:

  • to provide the annual  professional development training for the RRT,
  • to examine the challenges of responding to an emergency animal disease in a remote location.

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Animal Health Information Department (OIE)
[email protected]