USDA Publishes Updated Interagency Strategic and Surveillance Plans for Avian Influenza in Migratory Birds

USDA PUBLISHES UPDATED INTERAGENCY STRATEGIC AND SURVEILLANCE PLANS FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA IN MIGRATORY BIRDS

Posted by Gail Keirn, APHIS Legislative and Public Affairs, 970-266-6007

July 2, 2015 - Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) released two updated interagency plans related to the surveillance of avian influenza in wild birds. As part of USDA's on-going preparation efforts for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), these updated plans will help USDA with further monitoring of wild birds for the HPAI virus during the fall migration. Between now and March 2016, HPAI surveillance in wild birds will increase as APHIS Wildlife Services biologists and their State partners collect approximately 41,000 samples from apparently healthy wild birds from targeted areas throughout the United States.

The first updated plan— U.S. Interagency Strategic Plan for Early Detection and Monitoring for Avian Influenzas of Significance in Wild Birds—describes a unified national system for migratory wild bird sampling involving Federal, State, university and non-governmental organizations. The second updated plan— 2015 Surveillance Plan for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Waterfowl in the United States— outlines specific wild bird surveillance efforts for 2015-2016. These efforts were led by the Interagency Steering Committee for Surveillance for HPAI in Wild Birds. This committee is comprised of experts from USDA APHIS, the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Flyway Council. Read more...