Province Signs National Response Plan for Foreign Animal Disease Outbreak

Nova Scotia is better prepared to respond to a foreign animal disease outbreak, such as avian influenza, with the signing of a national response plan said Brooke Taylor, Minister of Agriculture today, July 12.

"We are extremely pleased to have developed a plan with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that will look at prevention, provide for early detection and deliver a quick response to any foreign animal disease outbreak in Nova Scotia," said Mr. Taylor.

Following the outbreak of avian influenza in British Columbia in 2004, significant work was carried out on precautionary control measures to prevent the introduction of the disease. The result is the Foreign Animal Disease Emergency Support (FADES) plan, which was developed through federal, provincial and stakeholder consultations.

Many agricultural producers in Nova Scotia are working on their own emergency response plans that will be linked to the FADES plan. Regular review, updates and exercises have been proposed to ensure that the contents remain pertinent and up to date.

"We are extremely pleased this agreement has been signed, especially since our poultry emergency response plan is complementary to the government one," said Alex Oderkirk, chair of the Nova Scotia poultry emergency response planning committee. "This ensures that both levels of government and industry are communicating and ready with an emergency plan if one is needed."

"Having an effective emergency plan in place prior to a foreign animal disease outbreak is critical to its control and eradication," said Mr. Taylor. "Advance knowledge and understanding of the steps to be carried out to deal with an outbreak will allow for rapid response."

Any foreign animal disease outbreak, even when responded to effectively, could cause major social and economic losses. Depending on the issue the response plan calls for such actions as quarantine, eradication practices, surveillance testing and repopulation.

In Nova Scotia, the signatories of the FADES plan are the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the provincial Department of Agriculture.