USDA TO HOLD FOREIGN ANIMAL AND POULTRY DISEASES MEETING

USDA TO HOLD FOREIGN ANIMAL AND POULTRY DISEASES MEETING    The U.S. Department of Agriculture will hold a meeting in Riverdale, Md., on Sept. 24-25 to review foreign animal and poultry disease issues.
   The Advisory Committee on Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases advises the agriculture secretary on actions needed to prevent the introduction of foreign diseases in livestock and poultry in the United States. The committee also advises the secretary on contingency planning and on maintaining “a state of preparedness” to deal with these diseases, if introduced.
   “The meeting will focus on the U.S. animal health emergency management system and the foreign animal disease situation worldwide and its relevance to the United States,” the USDA said.
   For more information about the meeting, contact Joseph Annelli, chief staff of veterinarian and emergency programs for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, at (301) 734-8073.