(from a New South Wales Department of Primary Industries press release)

A concerted effort has seen animal health professionals from across Australia arrive in New South Wales to help with the Equine Influenza (EI) epidemic there.

Animal health officers, stock inspectors and veterinary officers, many of them retired, have been brought in from (Austrlian states) Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, Northern Territory and the ACT.

They are involved at the control centers at Orange and Camden, and their knowledge of rural areas is vital in making proposals a reality on the ground.

Many of these animal health professionals are in private practice and have been sourced from the Australian Veterinary Reserve, which involves non-government vets who are trained in national emergency animal disease preparedness.

Their roles vary from veterinary investigations to working in the field with the vaccination program.

Vet students are also working at the centers; the project is giving them valuable training experience.