Action Area 4 – Tools and resources
The EuFMD dedicates efforts to maintain the capability of Member Nations to assess the impact of FAST disease incursions, through facilitating appropriate crisis responses and ensuring prompt mobilization of resources when needed. This Action Area aims to ensure enhanced response through tools, contingency capacity assessment and maintaining and improving diagnostic capability in MN laboratories.
The three key sub-activities:
- 4.1 Response tools
Under sub-activity 4.1, the EuFMD will continue developing and upgrading the response tools available to MNs.
The European foot-and-mouth disease spread model (EuFMDiS) is a hybrid model for the simulation of FAST, which involves equation-based modelling of within-herd disease spread and agent-based modelling of between-herd disease spread. The EuFMDiS will be further developed, ensuring its adaptation to other FAST diseases, disease control measures and disease spread patterns to enhance its use within the MNs’ preparedness and response activities. Further development of the model will facilitate assessment of the response capacities and informed decision-making to MNs.
The Get prepared wall is a centralized hub for resources, decision-making tools, best practices, example templates, and expert insights, organized into four layers covering key phases of emergency preparedness. The aim of the wall is to address identified areas of improvement in FAST diseases’ preparedness and response. Its evolving structure is regularly updated with new bricks and contents based on the development of new resources and needs of the MNs.
This sub-activity will also ensure that the most recent virological surveillance data will be used for a regular update of the Prioritization of Antigen Management with International Surveillance Tool (PRAGMATIST), the EuFMD and the FAO World Reference Laboratory for FMD (WRLFMD) live tool for prioritization of FMD antigens.
- 4.2 Assessment of contingency capacity
Sub-activity 4.2 will support veterinary services and laboratories of the MNs in the organization of national and multi-country simulation exercises. This support will be provided as a package, which will include relevant EuFMD’s tools for emergency preparedness and management, during exercises planning, conduct and evaluation.
- 4.3 Diagnostic capacity
Sub-activity 4.3 focusses on sustaining and improving FAST diseases’ diagnostic capabilities of MNs.
It aims to establishing of capacity assessment and development resources, diagnostic reserve systems and improvement of the collaboration and cooperation arrangements among laboratories.