A contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) contingency plan should be a well articulated strategy document designed to define actions that should be taken in the event of a CBPP emergency. It should contain details of the resources that are needed to meet such an emergency, as well as an action plan for efficient and rapid deployment of both human and material resources for effective containment of the disease and elimination of infection. While it is not feasible to produce a model contingency plan that will be a perfect fit for all the situations and circumstances that exist in different countries, the suggested format and contents as described below should serve as guidelines for individual countries to design their national CBPP contingency plans.
It is suggested that a national CBPP contingency plan should include sections or chapters on:
- Nature of the disease.
- Risk analysis for CBPP
- Prevention strategies.
- Early warning contingency plan.
- Strategies for control and eradication of CBPP.
- Organizational arrangements for CBPP emergencies.
- Support plans.
- Action plans.
- Appendixes.
These are considered briefly below, and then discussed at length in subsequent chapters.
This section should describe the essential features of CBPP such as:
- aetiology,
- world evolution and distribution,
- epidemiological features,
- clinical signs,
- pathology, and
- diagnosis (field, differential and laboratory).
While most of these aspects, as described in this Manual, are generic and therefore could be used almost unmodified, others may need to be modified to reflect the circumstances prevailing in individual countries.
This provides information on just how serious a threat CBPP is for the country in comparison with other transboundary animal diseases; where and how CBPP might present; and what its potential consequences are. The risk analysis should indicate just how much effort should be put into contingency planning, and should also provide the rationale for the disease control strategies selected.
Risk analyses need to be updated regularly to take account of changing circumstances, both internally and externally.
This should describe the quarantine and other measures that should be taken to minimize the risk of introduction and establishment of CBPP.
This includes all the initiatives that need to be taken to ensure that an incursion of CBPP can be recognized and reacted to before it reaches epidemic proportions in the country; and for monitoring the progress of eradication campaigns. It includes disease surveillance and epidemiological capabilities such as emergency disease reporting mechanisms and animal health information systems; training of animal health staff in recognition of the disease; and public awareness programmes.
CBPP may be controlled by reduction of the number of infected animals in cattle populations (through stamping out); preventing transmission of the disease (through zoning, cattle movement controls and quarantine); and reducing the number of susceptible cattle (by vaccination) - or a combination of these. This section, which is the core component of the contingency plan, describes how these strategies might be put into practice in a control and eradication campaign for CBPP. It also describes how disease eradication should be verified and national freedom proven to international standards.
The administrative structures of national veterinary services, which have evolved mainly to deal with routine animal health programmes, are not necessarily appropriate for emergency disease control. This section describes the organizational arrangements that should be ready to be put in place when there is a CBPP emergency, to enable all necessary resources to be efficiently marshalled to respond to the emergency. These arrangements will vary according to the infrastructure, veterinary services capacity and bureaucratic arrangements of the country concerned.
The support plans underpin the technical plans. They include financial, resource plans and legislation. They are of vital importance and are a key to the success or failure of an eradication campaign.
Action plans are the mechanisms whereby the various phases of the plan are implemented: from the initial investigation phase to the final stand-down phase.
A list of names and contact addresses, including telephone numbers, facsimile and e-mail addresses, of the following could be placed as appendixes to the contingency plan:
- regional and world reference laboratories for CBPP; and
- international organizations for possible assistance.
Also included could be information on:
- national animal health laws, and
- any other information that is specifically relevant to the individual country.
It should be emphasized that what now follows only provides a framework for countries to develop their own contingency plans for CBPP, as national contingency plans for CBPP have to take account of the particular national circumstances.
