Emergency Management of Poultry Disease Outbreaks Certificate Training Program

                                                For

             The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
                                 Bulgarian Borlaug Fellows

                                    November 7 – 17, 2007

                      Newark and Georgetown, Delaware, USA

Certificate Training Program Overview: This training program is designed for eight (8) USDA Bulgarian Borlaug Fellows from the government veterinary service and the commercial poultry industry who are responsible for preparing for and responding to outbreaks of avian influenza and other poultry diseases.  The Fellows manage national or regional veterinary services, animal diagnostic laboratories, or commercial poultry operations.  The Bulgarian Borlaug Fellows are:

Dr. Ludmil Antov, Director, Regional Veterinary Office – Montana Region

Dr. Pencho Kamenov, Director of the Directorate of Animal Health, National Veterinary Service

Dr. Marin Marinov, Director, Animal Health Department – Varna Region

Dr. Nedelcho Nedelchev, Director, National Veterinary Research Institute

Dr. Petar Pachev, Director, Animal Health Department - Bourgas Region

Mrs. Milena Panayotova, Deputy CEO, Aves AD Inc.

Mr. Radoslav Slavov, Ameta Holding Co.

Dr. Dimitar Tzvetanski, Government Veterinarian, Gorna Oriahovitza Municipality

The Fellows can adapt the practices and technologies presented during the training program for use in Bulgaria and build mutually-beneficial partnerships with colleagues in Delaware. 

The training program presents and utilizes the “Delaware model,” which emphasizes close cooperation between government, industry and educational institutions to manage avian influenza outbreaks.  Specifically, participants will learn about the Delmarva (Delaware (Del), Maryland (Mar), Virginia (Va) poultry industry’s best management practices and technologies related to controlling outbreaks of avian influenza. 

Training Program Learning Objectives:  By the end of the technical training tour, participants will understand:

• How Delmarva’s commercial poultry industry works with government and academia to protect their industry during outbreaks and to build public confidence once the outbreak is over;
• The elements of successfully planning for and responding to a poultry disease outbreak, including state and local policies, indemnification agreements, incident command management structures, required animal diagnostic laboratory infrastructure, media relations, multi-jurisdictional cooperation.
• The personnel requirements to successfully respond to poultry disease outbreaks.
• The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements for all personnel responding to an outbreak.
• The options available to cull sick flocks (CO2, foam, etc.).
• The options to dispose of culled flocks including in-house composting.
• The techniques to clean and disinfect a poultry house to get it back into production as quickly as possible.
• The structure and production methods of Delmarva’s poultry industry
• How the Delmarva Poultry Industry uses its farm biosecurity assessment tool to assess the biosecurity of poultry farms;
• The poultry industry technology available from Delmarva-based companies.

At the end of the training program the Borlaug Fellows and University of Delaware personnel will discuss specific ways to use the Delaware Poultry Disease Management experience to enhance the Bulgarian model of poultry disease management.  UD personnel can travel to Bulgaria in the Spring of 2008 to provide follow-on technical assistance and training. 

Program Structure: The training program will take place at the University of Delaware’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Newark, Delaware and at the University’s Carvel Research Center in Georgetown, Delaware.  The Carvel Center is located in the heart of the commercial poultry industry in Georgetown, Delaware.  Meetings with university researcher, poultry industry representatives and equipment suppliers will occur either in Newark or Georgetown, Delaware. 

UD will use short presentations in English with consecutive translation, peer-to-peer discussions, simulation exercises and technology demonstrations during the program. 

Fellows are encouraged to share their experience managing poultry disease outbreaks so that UD and Delmarva poultry officials may learn from Bulgaria’s experience. 

Due to biosecurity concerns; there will be no visits to farms or commercial operations.  However, the composting and foam demonstrations will take place on the University of Delaware’s demonstration farm in Georgetown, Delaware. 

Instructors:

Jack Gelb, Jr., Ph.D.

Director, Avian Biosciences Center

& Chair, Department of Animal and Food Sciences

University of Delaware

46 Townsend Hall

Newark, DE 19716

jgelb@udel.edu

Robert L. Alphin, M.S.

Poultry Research Coordinator and Allen Laboratory Manager

107 Allen Laboratory

Newark, DE 19716

ralphin@udel.edu

Eric Benson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Bioresources Engineering Department

242 Townsend Hall

Newark, DE 19716

ebenson@udel.edu

Dan Bautista, DVM, MS

Director of Lasher Laboratory

16483 County Seat Highway

Georgetown, DE 19947

bautista@udel.edu

George W. Malone, M.S.

Extension Poultry Specialist/Associate Scientist

16483 County Seat Highway

Georgetown, DE 19947

malone@udel.edu

Erin L. Bernberg, Ph.D.

Associate Scientist

Department of Animal and Food Sciences

245 Delaware Biotechnology Institute

Newark, DE 19716

elb@udel.edu

Brian S. Ladman, MS, MBA

Associate Scientist

Department of Animal and Food Sciences

315 Worrilow Hall

Newark, DE 19716

65838@udel.edu

George Irvine

Project Manager

Center for International Studies

& Division of Professional and Continuing Studies

186 South College Ave.

Newark, DE 19716

girvine@udel.edu

Costs: The University of Delaware (UD) will provide the Bulgarian Fellows with:

US Department of State and US Department of Homeland Security Visa fees ($200 value)

Round-trip economy class airfare from Sofia to Philadelphia

Ground transportation to and from the Philadelphia airport and to all official training functions;

Hotel accommodations (single rooms) in Newark and Georgetown, Delaware from November 7 to 17;

A meal and incidental stipend as determined by US Government daily rates for Delaware – provided in US dollars upon the day of arrival;

Assistance from UD staff throughout the program;

A cultural excursion to New York City or Washington, DC

Fellows are expected to bear a portion of their travel costs for this program including:

Travel costs from domicile to Sofia for Visa processing;

Transportation to/from the airport in Sofia;

Salary costs during the period of their stay in the U.S;

Personal spending apart from the per diem that the University of Delaware will provide;

Miscellaneous incidental costs preparing for their visit such as passport, pictures etc.

                                 Training Program Schedule:

 Emergency Management of Poultry Disease Outbreaks Certificate Training Program

                For United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
                                   Bulgarian Borlaug Fellows

                                      November 7 – 17, 2007

                                         Avian Biosciences Center Qualifications

              The University of Delaware’s Avian Biosciences Center (ABC) has an excellent record of providing high level poultry specific instruction, research, and consultation for many years to meet the needs of Delaware, regional, national and international companies, government agencies and students. Graduates of the University are employed in all segments of the poultry industry including broiler growing, hatcheries, egg laying, marketing, processing, vaccine development, poultry waste management, and poultry laboratory testing and management.  The Avian Biosciences Center partnered with the Delaware Technical and Community College in 2005 to create the Delmarva International Poultry Partnership and provided technical assistance to USDA and the Government of Romania on managing avian influenza.

Delaware’s poultry industry is well-developed and vital to the state’s economy.  According to the 2002 U.S. Census of Agriculture, Sussex County, Delaware, ranked first among America's counties in broiler chicken production. Approximately 71% of Delaware's cash farm income was from broilers in 2003. Delaware ranked 7th among the states in the pounds of broilers produced in 2005 with 1,835,000,000 pounds, up 23% from 2004. Delaware produced 282,300,000 broilers in 2005 with a broiler value of $844,100,000.  The average live weight of a Delaware produced broiler was 6.5 pounds. Although 49th in land mass, the State of Delaware is 7th in the nation in the value of poultry production.

The ABC is well positioned to provide technical assistance, training and research to build long-term capacity to manage the agricultural and economic impacts of avian influenza and other poultry diseases.   Our expertise is based on the fact that Delaware:

• Is a leader in poultry production in the United States.
• Contained outbreaks of low pathogen avian influenza and other poultry diseases (Newcastle disease and Gumboro disease) in the past.
• Established a rapid response task force and developed a comprehensive response plan to deal with poultry disease outbreaks. 
• Fosters world-class university, industry and government expertise on avian influenza, vaccines, disease tracking and characterization, and treatment.
• Created effective cooperation among academia, industry and government to plan for disease outbreaks and research preventive measures.
• Built two nationally recognized laboratories (Allen and Lasher) to conduct mass sampling of poultry, characterize diseases, and provide timely data to officials.
• Trained laboratory technicians, industry workers, veterinarians at the community college and university level with proven training protocols and pedagogy.
• Has a proven track-record of providing assistance to foreign governments, NGOs and academic institutions.

For more information:

Dr. Jack Gelb, University of Delaware, Department Chair, Animal and Food Sciences: jgelb@udel.edu

Or Mr. George Irvine, University of Delaware, Center for International Studies, girvine@udel.edu, (302) 831-2852.

Contact Information for Speakers:

Sara Busch, DVM
State Veterinarian
Delaware Department of Agriculture
(302) 632-7105
(302) 698-4560 Sara.busch@dda.state.de.us

Cindy P. Driscoll, DVM

State Wildlife Veterinarian

Director, Fish & Wildlife Health Program

MD Department of Natural Resources

Cooperative Oxford Laboratory

904 South Morris Street

Oxford, MD  21654

Office:  410-226-5193 x138

Fax:     410-226-5925

CDRISCOLL@dnr.state.md.us

Anne Fitzgerald

Chief of Community Relations

Delaware Department of Agriculture

2320 South Dupont Highway

Dover, Delaware  19901

Phone:  800.282.8685 (DE only)

                 302.698.4520 (Office)

                 302.242.4092 (Cell)

Fax:         302.697.6287

E-Mail     anne.fitzgerald@state.de.us

Deborah Goeller, R.N.,M.S.

Health Officer

Worcester County Health Department

P.O. Box 249

Snow Hill, MD 21863

(410) 632-1100

FAX: (410) 632-0906

Email: debbiegoeller@dhmh.state.md.us

Dr. Goeller coordinates the Delmarva Joint AI Task Force, a collaborative group composed of state, county, corporate health officers, industry, state and industry vets and state officials. This group was formed in 2004 to address the human health aspects of AI response.

David Shapiro, DVM, Dipl. ACPV

Director, Veterinary Services

Perdue Farms Incorporated

P.O. Box 1537

Salisbury, MD 21802-1537

(410) 543-3921

Fax (410) 741-3248

David.shapiro@perdue.com