Scenario 3Classical Swine Fever (CSF)Risk Communicator Trainingfor Foreign Animal & Zoonotic Disease Defense

Susan Gale, DVMCenter for Animal Health and Food SafetyCollege of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of Minnesota

In cooperation with

Risk Communication Project

Apply Risk Communication principles introduced in training module to a fictional event involving Classical Swine Fever.

Apply knowledge of zoonotic and foreign animal disease outbreaks to craft appropriate messages

Create risk and crisis communication response strategies from the perspective of key players

August 30, 2009Swine Sale BarnAnytown, USA

Producer A brings 40 gilts to market at a sales barn

A worker at the sales barn has a pork sausage sandwich in his jacket pocket. He bought the sausage in a country with CSF and it was not found at customs on his return to the US

The worker moves animals around the sales barn pens. The sandwich falls into the pen with Producer As gilts and several gilts eat some of the sandwich.

Ten gilts are bought by Farmer BThirty gilts are bought by Farmer C

Farmer B keeps ten gilts in an isolation area on his farmFarmer B maintains strict bio-security measures

Farmer C puts fifteen of his purchased gilts in an open pen next to the hog finishing barnFarmer C transports the other fifteen gilts to his cousin, Farmer Ds, farm

Generic pig pictureFarmer D put his gilts into a pen in a barn shared with some feeder steersThese gilts are the only swine on Farmer Ds premises

Farmer D calls out DVM X the next day to look at a lame steer DVM X has to cross through the gilt pen to get to the steerDVM X calls on four other swine farms that day

Two days later Farmer B notices the isolated gilts are not eating well and are huddling togetherSeveral gilts have fevers. Farmer B calls DVM Y to examine the gilts

DVM Y observes that one gilt has red skin blotches and is very ill, near deathDVM Y suspects Classical Swine Fever and calls the State Veterinarian

http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz csf/photo.htmPhoto credit: John MacKinnon

CSF DIAGNOSISThe State Veterinarian arrives that same day and collects samples to test for CSFOnsite testing is positive for CSF, samples are sent to the Federal Laboratory in Plum Island, NY for confirmation, results wont be known for 24-48 hours

CSF Virus

Classical Swine Fever does not cause illness in peoplePeople cant get sick from eating pork, but pigs canA CSF outbreak may result in a shortage of pork and pork productsCSF can cause major economic losses to pork producers in the US if the disease becomes established again

Gilts bought at a sales barn are sick and initial testing is positive for CSF, confirmation tests are pendingWhat if this happened in your county? Are you a Risk Communicator?Who is your audience? What sources of information do they have access to?How do you address the unknown aspects of this situation

PlayersActionsMessageState VeterinarianInvestigate source of CSF virusLivestock Sale BarnCooperate with investigationLocal Health Professionals, DVMs, MDs, Public HealthGather information from credible sources

Federal veterinarian investigates CSF on Farm B and traces source of gilts back to Anytown Livestock Sale Barn and Producer AFurther review of the sales barn records locates the gilts sold to Farms C & D and the four swine farms visited by DVM X

Final test results are positive for CSFTo prevent further spread of the disease, all swine premises within a six mile radius of any of these locations, whether infected with CSF virus or not, are depopulated

Develop a message about this outbreak that you want to deliver to your audienceWhat potential consequences can you imagine might result from this outbreak and/or the outbreak response?What questions might your audience ask?How can you reduce the fear or outrage reaction of your audience?

PlayersActionsMessageArea Veterinarian in ChargeReport investigation findingsBoard of Health spokespersonAssure public of no risk of disease among peoplePork Board spokespersonAssure public that pork is safe to eatLocal health professionals, DVMs, MDsAnswer questions posed by the public

Public:Can I get sick from eating pork?Agriculture producers:Are my animals safe?How can insure that Im not bringing the virus back to my farm? Media:How soon will you have the outbreak contained?

Eradication efforts contain the outbreak to a five county area. Time from detection to control is three monthsThousands of hogs are destroyed as a result of the CSF outbreakDespite assurances that pork is safe to eat, consumption drops by 15%

What is your role as a Risk Communicator once the outbreak has been contained?How would your message change?How might you be better prepared for the next outbreak event?

Risk and crisis communication is an ongoing processConduct pre-event (pre-crisis) planningFoster partnerships with publicListen to publics concern & understand audienceDemonstrate honesty, candor & opennessCollaborate and coordinate with credible sourcesMeet the needs of the media and remain accessibleCommunicate with compassion, concern & empathyAccept uncertainty and ambiguityGive people useful actions to do -- must do, should do, could do

**This training curriculum was developed through the collaboration of two Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence: National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Center Defense (FAZD) and the National Center for Food Protection and Defense. The content of this training has not been formally reviewed by DHS. The views and conclusions presented in this curriculum are those of the individual project investigators and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. **April 11th - Day 1 (6-hours-USDA-FSIS Only)

Phase 0:Non-Routine Incident Report (NRIR)FSIS Emergency Management Committee (EMC) ActivationFSIS Incident Command System (ICS)

******This graph can be used as a talking point for presentation. For online modules, the message column can be deleted.

***This graph can be used as a talking point for presentation. For online modules, the message column can be deleted.

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