The Veterinary Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection in cooperation, and with the technical support, of the European Commission for Foot and Mouth Disease (EUFMD) conducts an exercise simulating the infectious animal disease of foot and mouth disease. The simulation exercise is simultaneously carried out in Bulgaria and Macedonia, with the coordination of the European Commission for foot and mouth disease.

30 representatives of the national veterinary service – veterinary inspectors, field veterinarians, epizootiologists – participate in the exercise, where situations are simulated in office conditions, without field work. Exercises, with elements of field work and demonstration of all capacities, are planned for the beginning of summer 2015. years. The exercise is managed by the national coordinator, with the support of experts from the EUFMD and the Danish Veterinary Service, and with the presence of observers from Greece and Moldova. The National Crisis Center, the Expert Group and the Regional Crisis Center were established. All activities are planned in detail, they are carried out in accordance with the real scenario, and the participants are experienced and well-trained experts.

The aim of the exercise is to check the capacity of the national veterinary service to quickly identify the occurrence of a particularly dangerous infectious disease, to carry out fast and reliable diagnostics, to implement all the prescribed measures in order to effectively eradicate the disease and to inform interested parties and the public about the implemented measures in a timely manner. The exercise will help the state service in charge of animal health and welfare to recognize strengths and weaknesses in the entire chain of responsibility, as well as to prepare plans for improvement in the coming period.

In Serbia, the system of quick warning and emergency response to the occurrence of foot-and-mouth disease is clearly defined by regulations that have been modernized in the last few years, namely the Law on Veterinary Medicine (2005, 2009) and the Rulebook on Measures to Prevent the Occurrence, Suppression and Eradication of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (2009). The measures defined by these regulations, as well as the draft Crisis Plan (2014) and operational manual will be tested during this exercise.

The European Commission for foot-and-mouth disease (EUFMD) is an organ of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, founded in 1954. of which Serbia is an active member.

More information on EUFMD at:

https://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/commissions/eufmd/commissions/eufmd-home/en/