Selected employees of the Department of Agriculture Region IV-CALABARZON (DA CALABARZON) joined hands with the Provincial Veterinary Offices (PVOs) in the region as they attended the workshop on Foot-and-Mouth Disease Emergency Preparedness Plan (FMD-EPP) on July 2 โ€“ 5, 2019 in Tagaytay City, Cavite.

Spearheaded by DA CALABARZON, the activity aims to craft a quick response plan in case of an FMD outbreak in the region that will prevent entry, control spread, and eliminate the subject disease. Together with the PVOs, the participants were divided into six teams, to wit: Animal Movement Management Team, Surveillance Team, Rapid Action Team, Logistics Team, Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) Team, and Laboratory and Diagnosis Team. These teams will work together to implement a quick response plan.

According to Dr. Gloria G. Salazar, Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL) Chief, the inputs gathered in this activity will serve as the basis for the creation of the FMD regional quick response plan.

Among the topics covered for the workshop were about FMD (its clinical signs, status in the Philippines and in the Region, etc.), and the FMD Preparedness Plan: Overall Policy. Series of workshops were also conducted such as needs assessment and tabletop exercise.

Tool kits, sample kits, and African swine fever posters were also distributed to the participants. โ€ข RFL, DA-RAFIS