The 7th International Symposium on Avian Influenza in Poultry and Wild Birds will be held at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education, Athens, Georgia, USA, on April 5-8, 2009. Oral and poster presentations will focus on poultry and wild birds including pathobiology, virus reservoirs and ecology, molecular basis of virulence, vaccines and diagnostics, phylogenetics and molecular epidemiology, risk assessment, transmission, national and international control strategies, economics, updates on recent highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks and impact on human health with a focus on occupational and exposure risks. For more information please visit the conference website.
Uncontrolled AI in the U.S. could paralyze the industry and compromise our position as the leading exporter of poultry in the world. Fully aware of the devastating consequences that such situation could bring, the USDA sought to develop and maintain an active network that effectively monitors influenza activity in poultry across the country.
In January 2005, the USDA's Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES-USDA) funded the first nationwide research, education and outreach network known as Avian Influenza Coordinated Agricultural Project (AICAP). The first 3-year phase of our program resulted in significant achievements:
Our success story has been recently rewarded. On June 2, 2008, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced that USDA is continuing its commitment to avian influenza research by renewing the AICAP with another $5 million for three years.