Avian influenza, agroterrorism, and livestock biosecurity will be key discussion topics at the Foreign Animal and Emerging Diseases course on June 26-July 1. Hosted by the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, the course will be held at the Radisson Summit Hill in Knoxville, Tenn. The Department of Agriculture will joint sponsor the event.

Beginning this year, the course will be held annually with the University of Tennessee and the University of Wisconsin-Madison alternating as host sites. The course was previously held biennially at UW-Madison.

Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, extension agents, and other allied professionals involved in a foreign animal disease response effort are invited to attend this year's event.

Speakers include experts from the USDA, Dr. Corrie Brown from the University of Georgia, and Drs. Moritz van Vuuren and Koos Coetzer from the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

Partial funding from the USDA, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the Tennessee District 2 Homeland Security Council, and the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine will keep the registration fee to $600.

To learn more about the course, log on to www.vet.utk.edu/FAED/, or contact Dr. Sharon Thompson at (865) 974-7445 or srthompson@utk.edu.