Clifford will also outline what the USDA is doing to protect the country's multibillion poultry industry, and how it is addressing gaps in coordination with the DHS.
In a report released last week, the General Accounting Office noted such gaps, warning that these could significantly slow down the country's response to a pandemic scenario.
Under the country's general pandemic plan, the USDA is tasked to lead actions to contain outbreaks in poultry farms-as part of the first line of defense against the deadly H5N1 virus spreading to the human population, or of its mutating into a pandemic virus.
Together with the DHS, it coordinates the execution of state and local pandemic response plans-only turning over the lead to the DHS when a pandemic breaks out.
At the two-day summit, Clifford will also underscore the extra biosecurity measures being taken by the USDA to counter the spread of bird flu in poultry farms, on top of routine farm testing, trade restrictions, wild bird monitoring, and inspections at slaughter and processing plants.
"The poultry industry embodies the frontline in the war against bird flu, and how it is fought there will determine how well the U.S. will survive an emerging flu pandemic," notes Samir Farajallah, President and CEO of New-Fields Exhibitions, the summit sponsor.
On March 31, 2007, Clifford took action on a turkey farm in West Virginia, where birds tested positive for the low pathogenic H5N2 bird flu virus. Although this strain causes a common and mild illness in birds-and poses no risk to human health-the USDA had all 25,000 birds immediately culled to prevent the possible mutation of a highly pathogenic virus.
The 5th International Bird Flu Summit is part of New-Field Exhibition's continuing commitment to helping communities respond to various modern-day threats and issues, including a possible bird flu pandemic.
