USAHA News 
United States Animal Health Association 
Contacts:  J Lee Alley (334-467-9675) jalleyealley@knology.net
                 Larry Mark (703) 451-3954; ldmark@erols.com 

For immediate release: 

"Healthy Wildlife" Is Focus of USAHA's Annual Meeting in Hershey, Pa.., Nov. 3-9

     RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 7, 2005 - "Healthy North American Wildlife Initiative" is the
focus of the  Scientific Session of the 109th Annual Meeting of the United States Animal
Health Association (USAHA) and the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Association of
Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) at the Hershey Lodge and Conference Center,
Nov. 3-9, in Hershey, Pa. 

     Featured speakers at the scientific session include: Dr. Alex Thiermann, President of the
Terrestrial Animal Health Standards of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), Dr.
Brian Evans, Chief Veterinary Officer for Canada, and Dr. Ted Leighton, Executive Director of
the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre.  They and other wildlife experts will address
health concerns at the interface of wildlife, people and domestic animals.  The USAHA annual
meeting is open to animal health officials, producers, veterinarians, researchers, laboratory
officials, wildlife disease specialists, allied organizations and others with an interest in animal
and human health and food safety.

     Other topics that will receive special attention at the week-long meeting include the
National Animal Identification System (NAIS), Animal Emergency Preparedness and
Management, and Assesment of Risk in the Food Supply. 

     USAHA, the nation's animal health forum for over a century, is a science-based, national
organization made up of representatives from  state and federal animal health agencies, other
federal government agencies, veterinarians, university researchers, laboratory diagnosticians,
wildlife disease experts, producer groups and national allied industry organizations.  USAHA, 
founded in 1897, addresses issues of animal health and disease control, food safety, public
health, homeland security and animal welfare.   

    For information on the USAHA Annual Meeting agenda and registration, call (804)
285-3210 or check the USAHA website (www.usaha.org).  In addition to the  Scientific
Session, there are scheduled meetings of USAHA's 34 species- and subject-oriented
science-based committees and more than 20 supporting industry and professional organizations. 
At its meeting, AAVLD will hold 11 scientific sessions, three symposiums, and 25 committee
and subcommittee meetings.  Additional information on the AAVLD annual meeting is available
at www.aavld.org.

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