With the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in 2015, many poultry companies recognized the need to better plan and implement response plans to such incidents and improve collaboration with federal response agencies. With that in mind, the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association (USPOULTRY) has released a CD-based guide explaining the purpose of incident response planning. The guide provides a comprehensive template to build an Incident Management Team to plan and track actions during an emergency situation.
All government agencies are mandated to use a standardized, all-hazards approach and organizational structure when responding to incidents called the Incident Command System (ICS). Although the private sector is not required to use the ICS System structure, companies that are at least familiar with the system are in a better position to anticipate and coordinate with responding agencies.
It is recommended that companies establish an Incident Management Team (IMT) closely based on the ICS structure as part of their Incident Response Plan.
The USPOULTRY CDROM is available free of charge to USPOULTRY member companies and may be purchased for $200 by non-members. To order the CDROM, click here.
