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Media Advisory
Avian influenza poultry preparedness briefing for Washington state

OLYMPIA –  What: On Oct. 3 there will be a briefing for poultry and wild bird stakeholders on avian influenza at the Sheraton Tacoma. The briefing will start at 9 a.m. and will end at noon.

The purpose of this briefing is to educate the poultry and wild bird communities in Washington state about high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) and the steps being taken at the federal, state and local levels to address the disease should it be discovered in domestic and/or wild bird populations.

From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) will lead a seminar on how to use biosecurity to protect poultry from bird flu, training on the WSDA testing and surveillance program, and resources to help identify and respond to bird flu outbreaks. Seminar participants will receive a toolkit and handbook from the department’s Avian Health Program.


Where: Sheraton Tacoma (Tacoma Ballroom)
1320 Broadway Plaza
Tacoma, WA 98402

When: Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006
9 a.m. to 3:30p.m.

Who: Stakeholders invited to attend include:

State, county and local agriculture and wildlife officials
Extension office representatives
Farm Bureau representatives
Poultry association members
Backyard poultry owners
Pet bird owners
Feed store owners
Hatchery owners
Birding organizations
Private veterinarians
The briefing is also open to the media

There is no charge to attend this briefing. To register or to find out more, visit http://aiaware.org/wa/. This briefing is being organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in conjunction with the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

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