APHIS Factsheet

Veterinary Services March 2013

Questions and Answers: 

The National Veterinary 

Stockpile and the 24 Hour

Push Pack

The National Veterinary Stockpile (NVS) program, 

coordinated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 

(USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS), provides support to States, Tribes, and 

Territories responding to damaging animal disease 

outbreaks. Within 24 hours, the NVS can provide 

veterinary countermeasures—including certain types 

of animal vaccines, antivirals, supplies, equipment, and 

response services—to animal health officials in affected 

areas. To learn more about this program, see the NVS 

factsheet on APHIS’ Web site at www.aphis.usda.gov/

publications/animal_health/content/printable_version/

veterinary_stockpile.pdf.

One of the services NVS provides is shipping the 

“24 Hour Push Pack” when needed to combat a 

damaging animal disease outbreak.

Q. What is a “24 Hour Push Pack?”

A. A 24 Hour Push Pack is the initial shipment of 

supplies. The shipment will arrive within 24 hours 

of APHIS’ approval to deploy resources. The requestor 

only needs to provide basic information about the 

situation, and we will coordinate the transport 

of supplies needed to respond to a damaging 

animal disease.

There are four details we need to determine which 

push pack is most appropriate for the situation:

1) Type of disease—this helps determine whether a 

standard or high-protection push pack is needed. 

High-protection push packs include high-level 

respiratory protection, such as Powered Air 

Purifying Respirators (PAPR).

2) Number of responders expected—this 

determines the number of push packs needed. 

Each push pack supports 10 responders for 10 

days, changing 6 times per day. When making your 

request, round the number of responders up to the 

nearest multiple of 10.

3) Incident command point-of-contact to coordinate 

the NVS deployment 

4) The physical address of the facility that will 

receive NVS supplies

Once we receive this information, the NVS Deployment 

Management Team will determine what to provide 

immediately.

Q. What does a push pack contain?

A. Depending on the level of protection needed, there 

are two types of push packs.

A standard protection push pack contains four modules:

• 2 Tyvek personal protective equipment (PPE) 

modules, which include 450 PPE kits, a fi rst aid kit, 

bulk nitrile gloves, and boot covers;

• 1 Tychem module, which includes 150 PPE kits; and

• 1 decontamination module, which contains 

disposable aprons, isolation bags, Ziploc® bags, 

long-handled brushes, buckets with covers, pop-up 

ultra pols, shoe and boot scrapers, EMS shears, 

2-gallon sprayers, chemical tape, caution tape, and 

Virkon® S test strips. 

A high-protection push pack contains fi ve modules:

• 2 Tyvek PPE modules, which include 450 PPE kits, 

a fi rst aid kit, bulk nitrile gloves, and boot covers;

• 1 Tychem module, which includes 150 PPE kits; 

• 1 decontamination module, which contains 

disposable aprons, isolation bags, Ziploc bags, 

long-handled brushes, buckets with covers, pop-up 

ultra pols, shoe and boot scrapers, EMS shears, 

2-gallon sprayers, chemical tape, caution tape, and 

Virkon S test strips; and

• 1 PAPR module, which contains the 3MTM Breathe 

EasyTM PAPR System.

If emergency vaccination is approved, you may also 

request a module containing vaccine ancillary supplies 

(e.g., needles, syringes, and sharps containers). In the 

event of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, 

you may request a second vaccine ancillary supplies 

module containing pink FMD tags. This request 

is subject to North American FMD Vaccine Bank 

(NAFMDVB) approval; NVS stores the pink FMD tags 

for the NAFMDVB.
Q. What sizes of PPE are included in each 24 Hour 

Push Pack?

A. Each PPE module contains 2XL and 3XL suits. The 

NVS staff determined, after careful consideration, that 

these two sizes fi t the vast majority of responders.

Q. Will all of the 24 Hour Push Packs arrive on 

one truck?

A. NVS can typically load 50 to 52 modules in one 

tractor trailer. This equates to 10 push packs, with 

the remaining 2 spaces available for possible vaccine 

ancillary supplies. If you require more than 10 push 

packs, expect more than one tractor trailer.

Q. Do the 24 Hour Push Packs arrive on pallets?

A. The push packs are fully contained in Tri-WallsTM, 

which consist of triple-walled, fi berboard sleeves, a 

plastic top, and a plastic bottom pallet. The sleeve can 

be locked with the bottom pallet and top to form a rigid 

and secure system that eliminates the requirement for 

banding, stretch wrap, or strapping material. They are 

40 inches by 48 inches and are either 45 inches or 

52 inches tall. The plastic top and bottom pallet can be 

removed and the sleeve folded for storage. Forklifts or 

pallet jacks move them easily.

Q. How are the 24 Hour Push Packs confi gured? 

How can I quickly identify items in the pack?

A. Each 24 Hour Push Pack consists of modules that 

are packed with like items. This allows warehouse 

personnel to quickly fi nd specifi c items; for example, all 

decontamination supplies are packed in modules that 

have been labeled with a number “4.” We also attach 

a detailed packing list to the outside of each module 

that identifi es the contents. A packing diagram for each 

module is included on a drop fl ap.

To expedite fi lling requests, the NVS uses the following 

color-coded labeling system to distinguish the contents 

of each module so that items can be located quickly: 

• Blue = PPE

• White = decontamination supplies

• Yellow = vaccines, antivirals, and vaccination 

supplies

• Green = PAPR systems 

Q. Can empty modules be used to ship supplies 

from a storage location to a premises?

A. Empty Tri-Walls must be returned to an NVS 

logistics center so that they can be reused. The NVS 

Deployment Management Team will arrange for pickup 

and transport back to one of our centers.

Q. If I have questions about the NVS, who should 

I contact?

A. Email us at nvs@aphis.usda.gov with any questions. 

More information is also available on our Web site 

at www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/emergency_

management/nvs.shtml.

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

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