Have You Herd? AABP PodCasts

Emergency Preparedness

July 12, 2021 AABP
Have You Herd? AABP PodCasts
Emergency Preparedness
Show Notes

Are your clients prepared for an environmental disaster or a market disruption? Is your veterinary clinic and family prepared? In this episode, Dr. Fred Gingrich, AABP Executive Director, is joined by Dr. Christine Navarre and Dr. Gaby Maier to discuss emergency preparedness. They suggest being proactive with your clients and incorporate emergency preparedness into your herd health plan. There are many types of disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, floods, blizzards, loss of infrastructure, cyberattacks, and foreign animal disease outbreaks. We discuss creating partnerships and have a check list of items that are needed to assist in your preparedness plan. It is important for veterinary clinics and families to also be prepared in the event of a disaster. Dr. Maier provided clips from Dave Daley, a cattle rancher in California, and faculty at UC Davis where they discuss the wildfire tragedies they have experienced. There are also animal health sequelae after a disaster such as smoke damage, nutritional issues, dehydration, and skin damage that may require veterinary care. Veterinarians should also familiarize themselves with the AVMA Depopulation Guidelines as well as euthanasia guidelines to ensure appropriate procedures are in place to end animal suffering in the most humane method possible for the given situation. Dr. Navarre was a co-author for the publication of the Veterinary Clinics of North America Volume 34 Issue 2 on Disaster Response for Beef Cattle Operations which can be found here. The ReadyAG Workbook published by Penn State extension is also a useful resource for veterinarians. If you would like to learn more about emergency preparedness, Dr. Navarre is facilitating a clinical forum at the AABP conference in Salt Lake City, Ut. On Thursday October 7, 2021. You can register for the conference and learn more about this clinical forum by visiting the registration page