National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS): Countermeasures

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9 established the National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS) in 2004 to protect the Nation’s food supply by maintaining sufficient amounts of countermeasures capable of deployment against the most damaging animal diseases within 24 hours. The Directive reflects the national concern that terrorists could simultaneously release animal diseases of catastrophic proportions that would quickly deplete available resources within the State, Tribe, or Territory and overwhelm the private sector's ability to respond to such a disaster.

Deployable NVS countermeasures to respond to damaging animal disease outbreaks include the following: 

• Personal protective equipment to protect people and stop the spread of disease
• Decontamination supplies to inactivate pathogens
• Vaccines to quickly protect livestock and poultry at risk of infection
• Vaccination ancillary equipment and supplies to efficiently immunize large numbers of livestock and poultry
• Animal handling and depopulation equipment to humanely and effectively restrain, handle, and depopulate livestock and poultry
• Response support services to provide large numbers of trained personnel with equipment to support depopulation, disposal, and decontamination.  

The NVS program is administered by the APHIS Veterinary Services National Center for Animal Health Emergency Management. For more information, visit the NVS website http://nvs.aphis.usda.gov.

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