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A two days simulation workshop on Tabletop exercise for testing the veterinary response for highly pathogenic Avian Influenza was conducted on 23 – 24 January 2009 at Phuentsholing. The workshop was inaugurated by the Director General of the Department of Livestock (DoL), Ministry of Agriculture. The workshop was mainly focused on coordination, linkages and identifications of stakeholders to be involved during the epidemic. 
The Director General of the Department of Livestock, Tenzin Dhendup, addresses the participants Avian influenza has been spreading rapidly worldwide and in many Asian countries affecting both poultry and humans. The importance of AI lies in its potential threat to cause global pandemic. Owing to this fact the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health prepared National Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan (NIPPP) to deal with the emerging AI issues. The strategies and activities contained within them must be implemented and plans must be tested through exercises to determine if they would stand up to a real event. Testing plan through table top exercise has been shown to be practical, efficient and cost-effective way for the organisations to prepare for emergency response and recovery. The need to conduct table top exercise for testing veterinary response plan is very crucial especially with the resurfacing of HPAI outbreaks in the bordering states of Assam and West Bengal. 
Partipants visualising different scenarious and possible responses to these scenarios Accordingly, a working group was formed with representatives from DoL, Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) and Information and Communication Services (ICS) from MoA, Department of Public Health under Ministry of Health, and Department of Disaster Management from Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs. The other stake holders involved were from the Department of Disaster Management, Royal Bhutan Police, Royal Bhutan Army, National Environment Commission, Nature Conservation Division, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Road Safety and Transport Authority, City Corporation, World Health Organisation and Food Agriculture Organisation. During the workshop, various scenarios were created whereby the virus was imagined to have entered Bhutan and the responses from the various MoA and MoH agencies. The working group reviewed the recommendations of Paro table top exercise and made the following remarks: · Table top exercise conducted in Paro in November 2007 through WHO funding was mainly focused on coordination, linkages and identification of stakeholders to be involved. · Focused more on pandemic situation rather than testing specific response plan. · Clear cut roles and responsibilities of stakeholders are not clearly spelled out in the plan. · There was general consensus that there is genuine need to conduct next table top exercise to test veterinary response. . · There is need to re-circulate and follow-up the Paro tabletop exercise recommendations to all the stakeholders by Department of Public Health. 
Participants were from many different sectors and agencies. Reported and photographs by: Karma Tenzin, Information & Media Officer, ICS, MoA
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