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About Exercise Diva
Exercise Diva ‘09 is an emergency response exercise program to be conducted by DPI from July to November 2009, based on a hypothetical scenario of an outbreak of Foot and mouth disease (FMD).
The objectives of the exercise include:
- Assessing preparedness of government and industry to implement a livestock standstill
- Trialling the “vaccinate to live” operational policy,
- Developing and testing a comprehensive communication strategy, and
- Fully scoping resource requirements for a FMD outbreak.
The Exercise Diva ‘09 program comprises five exercises/workshops:
The functional exercise in November will establish a State Disease Control HQ and a Local Disease Control Centre and participants will actually perform their roles as if it were a real outbreak.
More than 100 DPI and other professionals, including veterinarians, animal health officers, industry representatives and other government agencies are taking part in the exercise.
It is important to understand that this will be an exercise to test Victoria’s emergency animal disease response capacity and it should not be confused with a real outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
About Simulations
Victoria has a solid reputation as a leader in biosecurity emergency response management.
Early detection and a rapid, planned response are key to effective biosecurity emergency management.
DPI is strengthening Victoria’s response by regularly conducting plant and animal disease exercises to test its response capability in the event of a real outbreak. Rigorous evaluation of these exercises along with real responses will continue to be a key method for assessing and improving preparedness. The Victorian Government continues to work collaboratively with industry and other stakeholders at the national, state and territory levels.
Despite our best efforts, we must recognise that occasionally we will have to manage a disease or pest incursion in Victoria, or in neighbouring states. Although we hope for the best, we must plan for the worst. We must be prepared to manage an emergency quickly, effectively and professionally.
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