Scenario 2 Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)

1. Scenario 2 Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Risk Communicator Training For Foreign Animal & Zoonotic Disease Defense

2. Developed by Susan Gale, DVM Center for Animal Health and Food Safety College of Veterinary Medicine University of Minnesota In cooperation with Risk Communication Project

3. Purpose of Scenario • Apply Risk Communication principles introduced in the training module to a fictional event involving Foot and Mouth Disease. • 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

4. Scene 1 August 30, 2009 County Fair Anytown, USA

5. Cattle Barn at County Fair • Beef and Dairy cattle are housed together in a barn at the Anywhere County Fair

6. Fair DVM Examines Cattle • The Fair DVM walked through the barn and noticed a heifer was lame • Further examination by the Fair DVM showed blister-like lesions between the heifer’s hoof on the lame leg

7. Detection • The Fair DVM suspected FMD and called the State Veterinarian • Preliminary testing was positive for FMD • Samples are sent to Plum Island Animal Disease Center for confirmation of FMD virus infection, results take 24 hours

8. Key Facts About Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is a highly contagious disease of cattle, swine, sheep and goats FMD causes blisters between hooves and in the mouth FMD is not contagious to people FMD is not the same as human hand and mouth disease FMD can be spread by people via contaminated clothing or equipment

9. Risk Communication Part 1 A heifer at a county fair is suspected of having FMD and initial testing is positive, confirmation tests are pending What 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?

10. Risk Communicators

11. Potential Spread of FMD Exhibitors and the public moved freely through all barns at the Fair The heifer had been at the Fair for three days, people with exposure to this heifer went home to their own farms Visitors to the Fair came from many neighboring counties

12. Response State Veterinarians puts all animals at Fair under strict quarantine during investigation Board of Animal Health warning went out to all DVMs and County officials No animals at heifer’s farm of origin showed signs of FMD

13. Risk Communication Part 2 Develop a message about this outbreak that you want to deliver to your audience? What potential consequences can you imagine might result from this outbreak? What questions can you anticipate from your audience? How can you reduce the fear or outrage reaction of your audience?

14. Risk Communicators

15. Anticipating Questions Public: Can I get sick from eating beef or drinking milk? Agriculture producers: Are my animals safe? How can I insure that I’m not bringing the virus back to my farm? Media: How soon will you have the outbreak contained?

16. Recovery Confirmatory tests are negative for FMD State Veterinarian lifts quarantine restrictions All animals are allowed to leave the Fairgrounds No depopulation was required

17. Risk Communication Part 3 How does your role as a Risk Communicator change given that this case was a false alarm? Does your message change? How might you be better prepared in the event of an actual FMD outbreak?

18. 10 Best Practices in Risk Communication • Risk and crisis communication is an ongoing process • Conduct pre-event (pre-crisis) planning • Foster partnerships with public • Listen to public’s concern & understand audience • Demonstrate honesty, candor & openness • Collaborate and coordinate with credible sources • Meet the needs of the media and remain accessible • Communicate with compassion, concern & empathy • Accept uncertainty and ambiguity • Give people useful actions to do -- must do, should do, could do