North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza

[p. 2]
Principles for Cooperation

At the March 2006 meeting in Cancun, Mexico,
the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States
determined that the following principles are to guide
collaboration in all stages of avian or pandemic influenza
management: [skip the first four points]
  • • Advise one another in advance of making any
    decision that could seriously affect the other countries;

    • Base our actions on the best available science and
    evidence-based decision making;

    • Agree that the imposition and removal of veterinary
    or public health measures in the movement of people,
    animals and goods, under our national laws and
    international obligations, will not be more restrictive
    or maintained for a longer period than necessary to
    achieve the veterinary or public health objective, so
    as to avoid unnecessary interference with the
    movement of people and goods within North America;

    • Ensure that the business continuity plans of our
    respective governments consider the highly
    interconnected nature of our economies; and

    • Strive to utilize clear and consistent messaging to
    the public and international organizations that is
    proactive, timely and accurate.

A Comprehensive Approach

. . . The purpose of this Plan is to enhance collaboration
among Canada, Mexico and the United States in order to:
  • • Detect, contain and control an avian influenza
    outbreak and prevent transmission to humans;

    • Prevent or slow the entry of a novel strain of
    human influenza to North America;

    • Minimize illness and deaths; and

    • Sustain infrastructure and mitigate the impact to
    the economy and the functioning of society.

Although influenza will not physically damage critical
infrastructure, systems may be weakened by the absence
of essential personnel in the workplace or the diversion
of resources. This plan, therefore, extends beyond the
health and medical sectors to include provisions in relation
to critical infrastructure and the movement of goods
and services across our borders.

Chapter 1: Introduction page 2
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The North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic
Influenza provides a framework for: [skip three points]
  • • Collaboration on a North American approach to
    keeping critical infrastructure and essential systems
    functioning properly in the event of an influenza
    pandemic.

. . . This Plan is not intended to replace existing arrangements
or agreements. As such, each country’s laws are
to be respected and this Plan is to be subordinate and
complementary to domestic response plans, existing
arrangements and bilateral or multilateral agreements.

Chapter 1: Introduction page 3
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[p. 15]
To enable a common approach that is both
consistent and uniform among the countries, Canada,
Mexico and the United States recognize that conditions
for regional trade should be established to minimize
unnecessary trade disruptions among the three countries.
This is reflected in the understanding entitled Agreement
Between the Chief Veterinary Officers (CVO) of the
United States and Canada For Reporting and Applying
Measures When Notifiable Avian Influenza Is Confirmed
in Each Respective Country (2006),contained in Annex 3.
Mexico and the United States are developing a similar
understanding based on OIE guidelines. Mexico’s measures
are pending trilateral discussion on the CVO’s Memorandum
of Understanding.

Chapter 3: Avian Influenza page 15
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[p. 27]
Chapter 6: Critical
Infrastructure
Protection

Canada, Mexico and the United States share much of
their critical infrastructure. Although a pandemic threatens
the health of workers, as opposed to causing physical
damage to systems, worker absenteeism could disrupt the
efficient flow of critical goods and services. For example,
critical workers sustain the flow of electricity as well
as natural gas and petroleum. These critical goods and
services are part of a vast, interconnected system serving
all of North America. Beyond energy and power, other
critical infrastructure and key resource (hereafter, critical
infrastructure) sectors, from manufacturing operations
to transport, banking systems to food delivery service,
could also be affected. Moreover, a pandemic could
significantly interrupt the ability of private and govern-
ment-owned businesses to sustain critical infrastructure.

To reduce the negative effects of a pandemic on North
American critical infrastructure, Canada, Mexico and
the United States intend to make every reasonable effort
to coordinate before, during and after a pandemic; to
establish a mutually supportive operating environment;
and to assist one another in improving the resiliency of
critical infrastructure in the face of the pandemic threat.
Once established, this operational framework is intended
to be applicable to critical infrastructure sectors, as well
as to all publicly and state-owned businesses in general.

Business continuity planning is recognized internationally
as a key method of providing for the continuous delivery
of essential services and products during disruptions and
is vital to the building of resilient infrastructure. All critical
infrastructure sectors, and indeed all enterprises, large and
small, public and private, including government institutions,
should strive to maintain critical operations during an
influenza pandemic. The three countries intend to promote
business continuity planning in their public and private
sectors as a key method of mitigating the impacts of
pandemic influenza, providing for continuous service
delivery and laying the groundwork for rapid recovery.

While the potential impacts of an avian influenza
outbreak may not be on the same scale as pandemic
influenza, contingency plans should be developed to
minimize and limit the economic consequences. The
ability to control animal movement, eliminate infected
and exposed susceptible populations and do more
effective general surveillance allows authorities
responsible or animal health to respond more
effectively to disease outbreaks and minimize the risk
to the human population.

The SPP Framework

A collaborative North American approach emphasizing
and supporting critical infrastructure planning,
preparedness, response and recovery processes is
fundamental to the proper functioning of these essential
systems within and across borders during a pandemic.
This Plan is intended to be consistent with the efforts
undertaken as part of the North American emergency
management framework “to develop a common
approach to critical infrastructure protection, [and] to
coordinate responses to cross-border incidents.â€