DOVER, Del. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Tom Carper has invited a Delaware animal scientist to participate in a congressional hearing on the avian flu threat, a significant issue for the Delmarva peninsula's poultry industry.
Jack Gelb Jr. is among several witnesses scheduled to testify at Wednesday's meeting in Washington of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Gelb is director of the Avian Biosciences Center at the University of Delaware's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Other scheduled witnesses include the chief veterinary officer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The hearing will look into the response to the current outbreak of avian influenza in commercial poultry populations across the United States, and preparations being made by Delaware and other states in the event an outbreak spreads to the East Coast.
