USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) plans to present a free webinar tomorrow, Feb. 28, on “Navigating Avian Influenza: Your Questions Answered,” the agency said in a news release.
Dr. Patricia Fox, a vet and National Epidemiology Officer for Avian Health for APHIS, will lead a virtual Q&A with poultry growers to address questions and concerns about avian influenza from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM EST. The session will focus on what avian influenza is, how poultry are affected, and what growers can do to minimize the risk of outbreaks; it is part of APHIS’ annual Bird Health Awareness Week.
Participants can register here.
To date in this latest outbreak, HPAI has been detected in 47 states and affected more than 57 million birds in the United States, and has inflicted damage on poultry across the globe.
Meanwhile, USDA’s Defend the Flock education program offers free tools and resources to help everyone who works with or handles poultry follow best practices in biosecurity. Also as part of Bird Health Awareness Week, APHIS will release additional new Defend the Flock resources:
- New Flock Defender Youth Program resources, including an interactive game and educator handbook.
- New translations of Defend the Flock Biosecurity Checklists in Arabic and Hmong; the checklists also are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Tagalog.
- “Biosecurity Workbook,” a biosecurity planning workbook designed especially for new and experienced backyard poultry owners to help them protect and care for their birds throughout the year.
Source: Meating Place
