The Ministry of Health and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) and the Tainan City Government jointly conducted a “Biological Pathogen Disaster Prevention and Rescue Exercise” from August 10 to August 11 of this (115) year. This exercise is the first domestically to use “Lifebird virus infection” as the training theme, upholding the “One Health” spirit, integrating 35 central and local units, mobilizing 205 participants, and verifying various epidemic‑prevention measures through tabletop simulations and live drills, consolidating medical and epidemic‑prevention resources, and completing our nation’s biological pathogen disaster response preparedness mechanism.
The Centers for Disease Control (hereinafter referred to as the CDC) explained that Lifebird virus infection is a highly threatening emerging zoonotic disease, with the natural host being the fruit bat. It can be transmitted to humans via intermediate hosts (such as pigs) or contaminated food, with a case‑fatality rate ranging from 40% to 100%, posing a potential risk of a global pandemic. Our country officially listed “Lifebird virus infection” as a Category 5 statutory infectious disease on April 2 of this year. Because control of the Lifebird virus spans the three domains of human, animal, and environment, this exercise was carried out under the “One Health” framework, inviting Executive Yuan Political Deputy Minister Chen Shih‑chung and Deputy Director‑General Zou Hsun‑yuan of the Disaster Prevention and Rescue Office to provide guidance, with Deputy Minister Zhuang Ren‑xiang of the Ministry serving as the team leader, together with Tainan Mayor Huang Wei‑che supervising on site. The exercise was jointly planned by the CDC, the Ministry’s Management Committee for Affiliated Medical and Social Welfare Institutions, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Tainan City Government, referencing the United States “Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP)” mechanism, adopting an unscripted approach, and using tabletop simulations and live drills to verify cross‑sectoral joint response capabilities to a Lifebird virus outbreak, improve vertical and horizontal coordination and forward command mechanisms during an epidemic, and implement emergency response and preparedness for biological pathogen disasters; a team of six experts and scholars from central and local levels was specially invited to form an exercise evaluation team to provide concrete recommendations on participants’ training abilities and key tasks. Participating units included Tainan City Government bureaus, district offices, and health centers, as well as the Coast Guard Administration’s Detection and Prevention Division (Southern Division), the Army’s 8th Corps, the CDC’s Southern Regional Control Center, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Agency’s Kaohsiung Branch, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Southern Regional Environmental Management Center, the Ministry’s Tainan Hospital, the National Cheng Kung University Hospital, and Tainan City Meat Market Co., Ltd., among other central and local agencies.
The CDC stated that the disaster scenario for this exercise was set as follows: a foreign worker at a pig farm in Tainan was confirmed as the first domestic case of Lifebird virus and died, and pigs at the same farm simultaneously tested positive for the virus. The central and local epidemic command centers were immediately activated to conduct a cross‑ministerial agricultural‑health joint epidemic‑prevention effort. The exercise comprised a tabletop simulation held at the Tainan City Fire Department’s Emergency Operations Center and a live drill conducted at a designated pig farm site in Shanhua District and at the Ministry’s Tainan Hospital. The tabletop simulation covered six key response phases: “suspected Lifebird virus case seeking medical care,” “activation of the epidemic command center,” “handling of the confirmed case’s remains and response actions,” “detection of Lifebird virus‑positive pigs at the farm,” “screening and management of contacts of the confirmed case and assessment of medical capacity,” and “One Health infection source tracing and environmental investigation.” The live drill exercised selected scenarios to test participants’ familiarity with established regulations and procedures, and to compare and validate the feasibility of the tabletop results. After the tabletop and live drills, an immediate hotwash was conducted, during which the evaluation team and participants exchanged opinions, discussed findings, strengths, and improvement directions, clarified related issues, and through this exercise further reviewed and refined epidemic‑prevention measures and resource allocation to ensure the public’s safety.
Source: Centers for Disease Control
Data compiled: Sensory Management Office
