Learn to combat high-pathogenic avian flu at webinar

Get further educated on how to fight high-pathogenic avian influenza during the webinar, “Combat high-pathogen avian influenza,” which will be held at 7 a.m. CST on October 30.

Register for the webinar, which is being sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and presented by WATT Global Media.

Avian Influenza can affect all species of birds in intensive poultry rearing system young laying hens are usually the most affected species. Free-living birds may carry an influenza virus without becoming ill due to natural resistance. It is known that wild waterfowl present a natural reservoir for these viruses and can be responsible for the primary introduction of infection into domestic poultry.  

Topics to be covered include:

1. The spread of avian influenza viruses from farm to farm is mainly by mechanical transfer of infective manure.
2. To date only viruses for the H5 and H7 subtypes have been shown to cause highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in susceptible species.
3. Direct contact between wild birds and poultry is not always necessary for introduction of virus into poultry farms.
4. Evidence suggests that certain avian influenza virus subtypes of low pathogenicity may mutate to highly pathogenic virus strains.

Speakers for the webinar will be Dr. David Swayne, laboratory director of Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, U.S. National Poultry Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Dr. Stephane Lemiere, global head at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Swayne has a doctorate of veterinary medicine (University of Missouri, 1984), M.Sc. in veterinary pathology (University of Missouri, 1984), a PhD in veterinary pathology (University of Georgia, 1987), and is a board certified in veterinary pathology and as a poultry veterinarian. For past 31 years, his personal research has focused on pathobiology and control of avian influenza in poultry.

Lemiere is a doctor in veterinary medicine and a recognized specialist in poultry pathology. He is a member of the American Association of Avian Pathologists and the French branch of the World Veterinary Poultry Association.

An archived version of the earlier held “Combat low-pathogen avian influenza” webinar can be accessed online.