Simulation exercise: Foot and mouth disease in Bulgaria-2

30 November to 2 December 2021

Dr Damyan Iliev, Delegate to the OIE and Executive Director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, informed the OIE that a multi-country foot and mouth disease tabletop simulation exercise organized by the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) in coordination with the relevant regional and local Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) offices was conducted from 30 November to 2 December 2021, with the participation of Bulgaria and also included participants from Turkey (Thrace region), Greece, Turkey/Anatolia, Iran and Iraq. Participants, from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia were assigned as observers.

The aim of this exercise was to assess response procedures in case of a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak occurring simultaneously in the border areas of endemic and non-endemic countries/regions, and to evaluate the level of preparedness and cooperation during animal health emergencies. For this purpose, key parties responsible to manage the outbreak of transboundary animal diseases were involved in the exercise, such as official veterinarians from the central and local Veterinary Authorities, as well as the National Reference Laboratories of each country.

This FMD exercise significantly contributed to good practices exchange, as well as to the improvement of communication and collaboration among involved countries.

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World Animal Health Information and Analysis Department
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
[email protected]