Emergency Management

Based on a recommendation of the Emergency Preparedness expert panel and the consent of ARIO, the name of this research theme has been changed from Emergency Preparedness to Emergency Management, which was felt to be more reflective of the scope of the theme.

Primary Objective of the Emergency Management Research Theme

The ultimate goal of this theme is to direct and maximize research activities and financial and human resources to support a proactive, coordinated and comprehensive approach to managing agri-food emergencies in Ontario to lessen their likelihood, frequency or impact.

Definition and Scope of the Theme

The Emergency Management research theme has an emphasis on "One Health" and encompasses issues relating to zoonoses and public health, foreign animal disease, plant pests, food safety, plant and animal disease epidemiology and surveillance, risk management, and related emerging issues

Research conducted under this theme will support the five 'core components' of emergency management as they relate to agri-food emergencies.

Pre-Event:

Prevention - actions taken to prevent an emergency

Management - actions taken prior to an emergency to ensure an effective response

Event:

Mitigation - actions taken to reduce the effects of an emergency or disaster

Response - actions taken to respond to an emergency

Post Event:

Recovery and restoration - actions taken to recover from an emergency

The focus of the theme will be on disease agents and pests whose sudden emergence or re-emergence in Ontario requires an immediate and comprehensive response for containment, or on endemic agents that are known to give rise to exigent circumstances (e.g. foodborne pathogens). In general, emergencies are events that cannot be handled with typical resources, and require an urgent, significant and coordinated response. Emergencies may arise by inadvertent or intentional means (e.g. bioterrorism or the deliberate introduction of a hazardous substance into the food supply).

1.2 Content Components of the Theme

There are four core subject matter components within this theme.

Animal Health and Welfare: Includes surveillance and emergency management issues relating to infectious diseases of animals and direct and foodborne zoonoses. Animal welfare as it relates to emergencies is in scope. Animal welfare as it relates to production (e.g. housing practices, pain control), as well as research relating to production limiting diseases (e.g. pneumonia and mastitis) are out of scope and will be addressed in the Production Systems research theme. Diseases of wildlife and companion animals are in scope as they relate to zoonoses of significance to livestock and human health. Purely basic research (e.g. disease mechanisms/bacteria pathogenesis), while important and necessary research, is beyond the scope of what OMAFRA should resource under this theme.

Plant Health: The focus will be on emergency management issues relating to plant pests. Plant pests include insects, other invertebrates, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, fungi, weeds and other invasive species that affect the health of agricultural commodities. Mycotoxins produced by certain fungi are an important exception, and some invasive plants are noxious and can present a public health hazard. Mycotoxins produced by certain fungi are an important exception. Research relating to innovation in pest management will be addressed under the Production Systems research theme.

Food Safety: Food safety research needs and issues, including analytical methods, risk assessment and risk management are within the scope of this theme. Food safety research related to this theme will be primarily addressed and resourced under the existing competitive Food Safety Research Program.

Related Public Health: The research theme relates to public health as it pertains to human-animal interaction, zoonoses and food safety research.

The following illustration depicts three dimensions of emergency health research which include risk analysis, emergency management and level of organization. This illustration will be useful into the future in the evaluation of proposed research projects, and to help describe and map the progress made in Emergency Management research over time along these three continua.

Figure 1.

Text equivalent of Figure 1

2.0 Context and Background for this Theme

2.1 Context and Background

Outbreaks such as SARS, BSE, avian influenza and invasive plant pests illustrate the concept of a 'global disease ecology'. Outbreaks that have occurred in Ontario/Canada illustrate the profound human health, animal health, plant health, economic, and environmental impact of these events. The economic impact of outbreaks can spread faster and cast a wider net than the actual morbidity and mortality they cause, with secondary disruption of supply chains and other effects. For example, the SARS outbreak had devastating effects on travel and tourism in Canada and the country saw a dramatic drop in GDP during the outbreak. The cost of BSE in Canada has been estimated to be around $10 billion in lost trade and compensation . It has been estimated that the damage resulting from past introductions of harmful invasive plant pests on agricultural crops and forestry in Canada is $7.5 billion annually . The cost of follow-up measures to control and/or eradicate disease can exceed the initial costs of outbreaks. It has also been noted that "fear of infection can result in the greatest economic damage" (ING Bank).

Furthermore, while Canadians enjoy one of the safest food supplies in the world, Health Canada estimates that there are as many as 13 million cases of foodborne illness each year in Canada, with health care costs alone estimated to be up to $3.8 billion dollars annually.

In addition to the adverse health and financial costs of outbreaks and illness, response and management options can have deleterious environmental impacts (e.g. mass culling and disposal of animals, massive tree removals, and chemical spraying to control plant pests or mosquitoes for West Nile Virus). The impact of invasive alien species on native ecosystems, habitats and species is severe and often irreversible. Invasive alien species can also result in significant social costs, especially to rural Canadian and Aboriginal communities that remain dependent upon agricultural and natural resources .

The province is challenged with the task of developing risk management systems to prevent and respond to agri-food emergencies, and has the responsibility to help ensure a safe food supply and a healthy population. To do so requires an adequate science base to support government and industry decision-making.

The expert panel has embraced a 'One Health' approach as the way forward to meet the challenges identified within this theme. The 'One Health' philosophy recognizes the "essential link between human, domestic animal and wildlife health and the threat disease poses to people, their food supplies and economies, and the biodiversity essential to maintaining the healthy environments and functioning ecosystems we all require" . One Health emphasizes the critical importance of interaction among scientific disciplines, jurisdictions, and health communities (i.e. between different animal sectors - livestock, wildlife, and companion animal - and between the human, animal and plant health communities) and is gaining momentum as the guiding principle in the development of animal, plant, human and environmental health initiatives in many jurisdictions, with the goal of improving the well-being of all species. The full scope of One Health is broader than the scope of this particular research theme, but its main principle of a unified, forward-looking and holistic approach to health and disease is applicable to the Emergency Management research theme.

2.2 Key Assumptions

The incidence of emerging infectious disease events, and their impact on Ontario, has risen significantly over time. The exchange of pathogens among livestock, wildlife, and humans is increasing and a localized disease event can quickly spread globally, sometimes within the incubation period of a disease, making detection and proactive control difficult. The possibility of intentional introduction of an infectious agent is also a growing concern.

Conditions that favour the persistence of existing threats and the emergence of new or variant diseases of plants and animals, zoonotic and vector-borne agents, plant pests and invasive species will continue. These include:

Changes in agricultural practices, including industrialization and intensification
Increases in population density (both human and animal). Increased demand for meat in developing nations will intensify livestock populations
Complex global movement of people, animals, and agricultural products and global sourcing of food and feed ingredients which can increase the risk of introduction and spread of hazards where they are not normally found.
Climate change (e.g. affecting the ecology of pests and disease agents, and increasing the probability of severe weather emergencies and related impacts on animal, plant and human health)
Adaptation of disease agents and pests (increased resistance to control measures, antibiotic resistance, recombination events leading to an expanded host range or changes in virulence)

Failure to predict, prevent and/or manage these threats can have significant consequences including:

Morbidity and mortality in human and animal populations
Severe economic losses to agri-food producers and processors. Losses may include market share or accessibility to markets, recall costs, litigation, and lost product
Environmental concerns (mass carcass disposal, chemical sprays, clear-cutting, loss of biodiversity, contaminated water supplies etc.)
Non-tariff trade barriers (e.g. BSE, Plum Pox Virus)
Loss of public trust and confidence in government, industrial/commercial agriculture and the food processing industry
Other economic costs including business risk management claims, health care costs, lost wages and lost productivity, and losses to other sectors (e.g. tourism)

All reasonable measures must be taken to prevent the importation of foreign pests and diseases into Canada. Canada must likewise ensure that unwanted pests and diseases are not exported from Canada to other nations. This is essential to protecting export markets and trading relationships.

There is a need to distinguish between the process, management, and regulatory aspects of emergency management (of which there are many), and the aspects that are related to research. OMAFRA undertakes many activities to contribute to Emergency Management, of which research is only one. Policy and program development, coordination and delivery are major roles of government to encourage integrated systems that effectively manage animal, plant and public health risks. Behavioural and management changes will continue to be promoted by a combination of tools including advice; best practices; education and training; financial incentives; and licensing, inspection, compliance and enforcement activities. Research has an important contribution to make and can be considered an enabling foundation to defining problems, exploring solutions, and designing and verifying effective and appropriate tools .

2.3 Trends

In addition to the key trends and assumptions listed above, there are additional trends and issues that have been identified that may influence emergency management into the future.

Biological

Emergence of variant forms of formerly benign organisms (e.g. Circovirus and E. coli O157:H7)
Antibiotic and multi-drug resistance in human and animal disease agents is increasing
Increasing importance of wildlife and vector-borne diseases as a contributor to emerging human infectious disease events globally
Increasing numbers of individuals in sub-populations susceptible to foodborne illness and other infectious diseases (e.g. immuno-compromised)

Socio-Cultural

There is a general trend toward increased public accountability in agriculture and food production. It is probable that societal pressure for rigorous animal welfare, food safety and quality standards, and environmental stewardship will be increasingly influential in the marketplace and in policy development
Consumer pressure is a key driver in influencing some aspects of animal welfare and agriculture (e.g. production and rearing practices, transportation and euthanasia practices). These issues can become critical in emergency situations such as border closures or foreign animal disease depopulation
Evolving consumer demands, demographics and behaviour can impact the frequency or impact of adverse events, particularly as they relate to food safety (e.g. minimally processed foods, local foods, farmers markets, larger immigrant populations, exotic foods, convenience foods, eating out, religious and cultural food practices)
Food security is becoming an increasingly important issue
Impact of activist and advocacy groups
Media influence in outbreaks and other adverse events

2.4 Opportunities

Several Ontario-specific opportunities and niches have been identified that can support the advancement of research in this theme.

Although gaps exist, Ontario has an exceptional critical mass of expertise in the subject areas related to emergency management research, representing good opportunities for multi-disciplinary and collaborative research.
OMAFRA is currently developing options to further strengthen animal emergency management systems. Research conducted under this theme can help support, inform or fulfill those strategies and aid in the development and prioritization of disease risk assessments.
New one-time funding under the University of Guelph/OMAFRA agreement for the Animal Health Laboratory over the next five years should considerably increase the analytical and surveillance capacity in the province for animal and emerging zoonotic diseases.
The recent establishment of the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Agency represents an excellent opportunity to establish new linkages and create a hub of expertise that could become an international leader in the area of animal health, agriculture, food safety and public health.
Likewise, the mandate of the recently established Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses at the University of Guelph aligns directly with this research theme and represents a network of U of G and other collaborating researchers with a focus on preventing and controlling emerging animal-related diseases that threaten public health.
Ontario maintains a regulatory system for abattoirs, auction houses, the deadstock industry, and livestock medicine outlets. Data from these sources may have potential value in integrating with other sources of information to support surveillance activities.
This priority setting process is an opportunity to inform the future direction of the OMAFRA Food Safety Research Program, and integrate and coordinate its objectives and outcomes with those of the Emergency Management research theme.

2.5 Issues and Barriers

There are several issues and barriers common to all the theme subject areas that impact our ability to develop or implement emergency management measures and/or can impact research in this area.

a. Information access and management:

Information infrastructures are poorly integrated, highly dispersed and decentralized networks. There are a lack of mechanisms for planning and coordinating information collection (from farm-fork-hospital bed) as well as institutional obstacles to information sharing

There are constraints on data capture and sharing making it inaccessible; freedom of information issues; privacy legislation; intellectual property

b. Lack of capability/failure to effectively utilize current knowledge and information

c. Traceability systems are insufficient

d. Systems do not exist to measure the effectiveness of interventions

e. Disincentives to reporting (e.g. because compensation is not preapproved)

f. Legislative and regulatory challenges (e.g. limited authority to act)

g. Human and infrastructure capacity issues including:

Lack of trained human resources (e.g. pathologists, erosion of expertise in pest diagnostics and pest management)

Limited laboratory capacity and facilities (e.g. few facilities with adequate containment for plant pests)

Furthermore, it is difficult to 'prove' an adverse event has been avoided. The absence of events (i.e. good emergency management) may lead over time to an increase in public apathy and a reduction in resources available for emergency management. Therefore avoidance must somehow be made visible as a tangible value.

2.6 Enabling Components of the Theme

Four components are identified as being particularly important to advancing this theme both in terms of research and operational programs. They are included here, as they can be considered foundational to conducting research in this theme and developing and implementing effective emergency management strategies in Ontario.

Inventory of Current Research / Knowledge / Capacity

The need for an inventory of existing research and capacity is an important first step as OMAFRA embarks on research in this area. Considerable research relevant to this theme already exists.

The cataloguing and use of historical and current research data, and leveraging knowledge from other jurisdictions (e.g. surveillance, best practices, biosecurity, lessons learned etc.) are important to the planning of future germane research projects. In addition, there is a need to understand Ontario's 'current status' in terms of management, mitigation abilities, response readiness, and recovery capabilities (e.g. current state of traceability and real-time premise ID).

Identifying and Establishing Key Linkages and Partnerships

To embrace a One Health approach to addressing agri-food emergencies, this theme requires multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral and multi-jurisdictional approaches to research. Collaboration and communication among research institutions, governments and industry stakeholders, as well as the international community is seen as being essential to meet the existing and future challenges of this theme area.

OMAFRA needs to determine where the key linkages and dependencies are between human, animal and plant health and take an active role in collaboration and network development. Policy makers at the various levels of government, as well as the key commodity/processor groups, should be involved in research right from the start. Engagement of, and buy-in from, farmers, growers, processors, consumers, and industry organizations is critical, as these groups are the end users of research and often the front lines of our defence.

Strategies for Research Translation and Transfer

The timely communication and utilization of existing knowledge and new research generated under this theme is essential. There is a need for the development of processes that allow incorporation of science into policy development, operational practices, and decision-making.

Social, Legal and Ethical Aspects of Emergency Management

Some of the areas described below may be beyond the traditional focus of OMAFRA research, but learning and progress in these areas can support Emergency Management.

Risk Perception and Communication: Risk communication is multi-directional and involves the public, producers/processors and the sector. Public perception of risk is often disconnected from reality and too often the government lags behind the media and other interest groups in getting their message across. There may be ways that public fear can be better managed and informed prior to and during an emergency. Research on risk perception and how people respond psychologically/ emotionally in an emergency may lead to the development of new models of effective relative risk communication.

Industry Engagement: There is a need to understand what stakeholders are interested in, and how to achieve and maintain industry engagement, buy-in and compliance in the absence of an event. Producers and processors will need to see the benefits and the value for money of proposed interventions. Knowledge of emergency management and training of personnel working in the throughout food production chain is also important. Emergency response simulations can keep these issues on the radar of industry.

Legal/Ethical Issues: Lack of an Animal Health Act for Ontario was identified as a problem. A strategy or Act that defines chain of command (who does what, when, and on what authority) is necessary. A poor understanding of roles and authority in an emergency can slow responses and compromise effectiveness. Industry should clearly be defined as a partner, not just a participant. In addition, information and/or research on issues surrounding data sharing and access may help overcome some of the challenges identified in this report.

2.7 Dependencies and Linkages with the Themes

The importance of collaboration and partnerships is described in section 2.4 above. There are varying degrees of linkages or relationships of Emergency Management to the other research themes. Research conducted under some of the other themes may produce results relevant to risk assessment and emergency management strategies. Some specific connections identified among the themes are listed below, although not all of them directly relate to research in this theme:

Production Systems - biosecurity, intensification of agriculture; good management practices related to emergency prevention and mitigation; best practices and innovation in pest management; plant and animal production and management practices can have direct impacts on animal health and welfare, food safety and by extension, public health

Agricultural Policy - government regulation; farm management challenges; agricultural trade

Product Development and Enhancement Through Value Chain - traceability technologies and quality/safety assured supply chains; improvement of business efficiency; also a tool to add and capture value by providing verification of credence attributes that may be difficult or costly to measure

Rural Policy - rural/urban interface; rural infrastructure; community capacity

Bioeconomy-Industrial Uses - The utilization of agricultural waste or by-products of industrial processes may have food safety implications (e.g. the use of dried distillers grain in animal feed may increase the carriage and shedding of E. coli O157:H7 in cattle). The food safety implications of novel, biodegradable packaging materials from cellulosic and other materials need to be considered.

Food for Health - The development of novel foods and new food products that meet consumer demand for convenience; reduced salt, fat or sugar; no preservatives; as well as new and alternative processing methods may have food safety implications. Changes in primary production practices for the purposes of the development of foods with novel or enhanced traits could have food safety or animal welfare implications (e.g. alternative animal diets).

Environmental Sustainability - Plant pests, invasive alien species and emergency management activities can negatively impact ecosystems.

3: Research Areas and Priorities for this Theme

3.1 The Approach

Even though we cannot predict the exact nature of future emergencies nor their exact timing, we can be certain that some sort of emergencies will occur that will share some common and predictable emergency management needs. Research that supports horizontal or cross-cutting initiatives will result in the best return on our research investment no matter what happens specifically.
Spread of disease and pests is inherently exponential in nature, therefore little mistakes can turn into big emergencies and small, early precautions or interventions can avert large-scale emergencies. Research efforts should be primarily focused on prevention and preparedness in order to help transition emergency management from ad hoc, issue-specific initiatives to a proactive, preventative approach; integrated as required among disciplines, sectors and jurisdictions.
It is important to differentiate between areas which are regulatory or related to incident command / process versus those which require research input. There are many needs and issues important to advancing Emergency Management in the province, but not all require research to go forward. For example, traceability is a key aspect of Emergency Management; however, effective systems already exist and are being effectively applied in other jurisdictions, thus it is not a priority area for research.

3.2 Description of Research Areas

The goal of this research theme is to support agri-food components of emergency management in Ontario in order to lessen the likelihood, frequency or impact of agri-food emergencies. OMAFRA also has a responsibility to help ensure a high level of public health and food safety by reducing the risk of foodborne/ waterborne disease and direct zoonoses. This section describes the strategic research areas the expert panel felt that OMAFRA should champion. They are presented in a logical, unranked order.

A. Threat Identification and Prioritization

There is a need to identify and prioritize threats to plants, animals, food safety and human health within the Ontario context to optimize the application of limited resources so as to strategically manage risk to acceptable levels of likelihood, frequency and impact. Risk assessments ask three questions: 1) What can go wrong? 2) How likely is the event to occur? 3) If the event happens, what is the magnitude of harm? The identification and characterization of potential hazards requires an evaluation and understanding of global trends in zoonotic and animal diseases and invasive alien species. Given that risk is a function of both probability and impact, uncertainties in our understanding of the factors that influence these two components for a given hazard compromises our ability to rank risks and prioritize surveillance, detection and risk management activities. Assessments of potential adverse events should take into account health, economic, trade, ecological, social and political impacts, public perception, feasibility of control, as well as the variability and uncertainties inherent in the data.

B. Detection and Surveillance

Surveillance is important to support the safe trade of plants, livestock, and animal and food products. Food and animal health surveillance is also important to public health. Being able to detect hazards and conduct surveillance to understand their normal frequency and distribution, and detect important changes early, helps to facilitate timely response so as to mitigate impacts. The data required to help evaluate the effectiveness of food safety interventions and other initiatives is currently limited. Integrated systems and information access and sharing among the health communities involved in Emergency Management is critically important, as is the development of databases. In addition, appropriate diagnostic tools are required to support surveillance activities. This may require the development of analytical methods for emerging hazards or the improvement of existing methodology (e.g. improved sensitivity, specificity).

Examples of research needs in this area include:

Development and validation of detection and monitoring methods for animal diseases, plant pests and foodborne disease agents including:
Rapid diagnostics of exotic/emerging/novel pathogens and pests
Real-time and field-based/pen-side diagnostic tools
High-throughput methods
Development of appropriate and representative sampling strategies
Systematic, laboratory, farm level, and follow-up investigation surveillance
Identifying needs and gaps in linking human / livestock / wildlife surveillance systems for early identification including appropriate, unified reporting systems
Baseline studies to help understand changes in existing conditions for identification of future research projects
Examining cost effective and timely models for improved surveillance and data collection and cross-sectoral analysis (e.g. extensive and collaborative interfacing of animal and human health data). This could include high quality trend analysis, epidemiological investigations, and examination of the potential utilization of GIS platforms and, where feasible, geocoding of data to better understand and depict trends in the interface between animal and human health. Many new mathematical, statistical and geospatial techniques can be developed and applied.

C. Pathway Analysis

Increasing diversity and volume of trade and travel result in the complex movement of people, food, animals, and plants across and within borders. Once introduced, pests and disease agents can spread provincially or nationally. Pathway analysis is a systematic assessment of the pathways along which a disease agent or pest might enter or move within and between Ontario farms and establish an outbreak of disease in plants, animals or humans. Understanding pathways of invasion and spread is important in order to identify the vulnerabilities and the weakest links from an Ontario perspective, resulting in the identification of critical control points throughout the agri-food system so we know where to best target interventions. Research is needed to understand normal flow through the animal, plant and food systems as well as the factors that contribute to the emergence, transmission and persistence of infectious animal diseases, zoonotic agents and pests. This information will guide how to prevent, mitigate, detect, assess and respond to emergencies in the most effective and efficient manner.

Examples of research needs in this area include:

Understanding and modelling the frequency, distribution, normal variability in space and time of animal and plant hosts at risk, as well as the frequency, distribution, and variability of hazards (eg virulent bacteria, viruses, etc) that can cause harm to the health of animals, plants or related public health on an emergency scale
Understanding and modelling of frequency of input, commodity and out flow including contacts, probability of transmission and factors influencing population susceptibility as these are the core factors that influence the number of new cases created by existing cases, the resultant scale of the outbreak, and the scale of the emergency.

D. Prevention and Control of Disease

Preventing the introduction of a pest or disease agent is the most effective means to avoid or minimize risk, and can be considered the most cost-effective approach to emergency management. Effective prevention and control strategies are required that are affordable, predictable and can be broadly implemented. Research is required to support the development of best management practices. The designs of emergency management systems that pay for themselves through improved business efficiency during non-emergencies, but can be scaled up for use in emergencies have the best chance of adoption and success.

Examples of research needs in this area include:

Biosecurity measures: Practical biosecurity programs are needed for each sector based on sound research as to the effectiveness of particular measures to reduce the introduction or spread of diseases or pests. New ways of limiting the impacts of adverse events (e.g. zoning/ compartmentalization) need to be explored, but the science to support such decisions may be lacking. Research is required to determine what degree of biosecurity is required in a particular context and when, as there is a point of diminishing returns.
Models of different approaches to prevention and control may be built upon earlier models of system flow and pathways and disease modelling.
Food safety risk management: including food safety measures on-farm and during processing, and new processing technologies. Many infectious agents that cause illness in humans do not have an impact on animal welfare or crop and horticulture production. This presents challenges in creating incentives for producers to implement control measures. Likewise incentives may be weak for food processors to implement food safety management programs.
Systematic review: In some cases a large body of research knowledge already exists that would support policy and program decisions. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis of global research can provide support for evidence-based decision making regarding prevention and control strategies.
Management of plant and animal populations in an emergency: This may include effective euthanasia methods that are publicly acceptable, especially in large animals, and the identification of efficient carcass disposal strategies in Ontario. There is also a need for advances in effective disease risk management without mass destruction of healthy animals and plants (e.g. though the use of computer models).
Disease control strategies such as vaccination.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions.

E. Benefit/Cost Analysis

Failure to plan ahead for emergency situations with the lack of clear plans for emergency response, puts considerable resources at risk. Information regarding the economic impact of possible adverse events is needed for both industry and the general public in order to assess the value of avoided losses (benefits) against the costs of investing in emergency management.
Emergency management initiatives and policies need to achieve their intended benefits and be cost effective for the agri-food industry and allow the sector to maintaining its competitiveness globally. Research is needed to evaluate the costs and benefits of potential risk-reducing interventions in order to prioritize risk management options. Modelling and/or analysis should ideally integrate the effectiveness of interventions in reducing risk, the resulting benefits from improvements in plant, animal or public health, and the time/effort and financial investment required for the intervention.

4: Critical Success Factors

4.1 The Approach

Complete success in this theme would entail complete knowledge, achieving near complete prevention and avoidance of all emergencies, as well as immediate containment and fully effective response to any unpreventable emergencies. Such success of "avoidance-of-loss" would be difficult to measure.

4.2 Description of Critical Success Factors

There are several factors over which we have reasonable control which can affect the success of research and other advances in this theme. The importance of collaboration and partnerships, research translation and transfer, and mining existing knowledge are substantial and these factors were described earlier in this document in section 3.3 (Enabling Components). Other factors identified include:

Prioritization and allocation of provincial research funding and human resources. Resources need to be adequate
Laboratory capacity to support Emergency Management
Coordinated information management and information sharing strategies among the health communities involved to provide early warning of problems
Education and awareness programs (public, producers and processors, veterinarians)
Policies to support Emergency Management

Specific programs identified that are foundational to effective emergency management, and over which we have reasonable control, include:

Traceability and premise ID
Effective, documented, and audited biosecurity programs in place based on research
Effective, documented, and audited surveillance systems in place with known test and system sensitivity and specificity
Effective, documented, ever improving, scientifically sound emergency response systems in place, that are practised and used routinely

5: Other Related Considerations and Recommendations

5.1 Considerations

There are particularly important linkages between the Emergency Management research theme and the Production Systems theme that will have to be taken into account going forward.
Research is required to encourage the adoption of emergency management interventions and maintain industry engagement, particularly in the absence of an adverse event.

Certain policies can create conditions that can impact emergency management measures. For example, municipal bylaws that allow residents to keep livestock can result in animal populations that may be overlooked in an emergency, and can complicate disease surveillance and emergency response/eradication. There needs to be linkages between these policies and the sectors which they affect.

For more information:
Toll Free: 1-888-466-2372 ext. 64554
Local: (519) 826-4554
E-mail: research.omafra@ontario.ca

Author:	OMAFRA Staff
Creation Date:	23 October 2008
Last Reviewed:	7 January 2009

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