2005 saw a host of committees, task forces, hearings and press conferences devoted to improving – or touting – Wisconsin’s response to a possible outbreak of avian influenza. Though no confirmed human or bird cases of the H5N1 influenza virus have occurred in the United States, the disease has spread rapidly among birds and poultry in Asia and Europe.
Gov. Jim Doyle directed three state departments – Health and Family Services, Natural Resources and Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection – to form an Avian Influenza Coordination Team to bolster the state’s preparedness efforts.
….University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists, especially Yoshihiro Kawaoka, have been working on several fronts to fight avian influenza.