Implementation of a new contingency plan for bluetongue disease in Italy

Since the first appearance of bluetongue (BT) in Italy in late August 2000, the ecology of vectors and the environmental conditions affecting their distribution and survival proved to be the most difficult factors to monitor, and represented a serious challenge to the effectiveness of the National Contingency Plan promulgated in 1991. Moreover, the Italian Ministry of Health considered the national management plan of BT inadequate to prevent further spread of the disease. The authors describe the implementation of a new BT contingency plan, integrating an operations manual and an ad hoc information system, which operated also as a decision-support system both at local and central levels. The plan describes the national capacity for dealing with BT outbreaks, the composition and duties of the National Disease Control Centre and Local Disease Control Centres, the chain of command and the strategies adopted.