MILWAUKEE -- Gov. Jim Doyle on Tuesday outlined Wisconsin's preparedness plan for a possible avian influenza outbreak -- a plan the state hopes it never has to use.

The plan is much like one the state developed in 2001 that prepared for pandemic influenza.

The updated plan focuses on protecting Wisconsin's farmers and agriculture industry in the event of a bird flu outbreak.

It includes the state's response for isolating infected animals to make sure an outbreak doesn't cross over to humans.

The plan also includes protocol for people who come into contact with infected animals and putting them on antivirals.

Other specific measures of the plan include:

Controlling infection through isolation by using rooms in hospitals, nursing homes, and any other facilities to prevent the spread of the virus; Using quarantine, if the state public health officer or local health departments decide that it's necessary;
Giving hospitals increased capacity to manage patients by reconfiguring rooms or floors to enable them to care for bird flu patients;
Giving state and local governments the ability to draw on volunteer medical professionals through the Wisconsin Emergency Assistance Volunteer Registry;
Signed agreements by all hospitals in Wisconsin to provide assistance to one another
Directing local planners to identify alternative locations where hospitals could move patients or house additional beds, if necessary; and
Testing anyone for bird flu who might have been exposed to the virus - such as travelers to Southeast Asia - and who present to the hospital with flu-like symptoms. Since January 2004, 19 individuals have been tested; none of them has tested positive.

The World Health Organization has recommended that states and local plans be developed in the event the bird flu makes its way to the United States.

The spread of the virus in southeast Asia has raised concerns it may spread to more parts of the world.

Read the Wisconsin Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan.