The Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on October 13 that the country’s outbreak of Newcastle disease has been resolved.
OIE reported on August 21 that a backyard flock in the Haskovo province in the southern part of the country had been affected by Newcastle disease. There were 100 birds in the flock, according to the report. Of those 100 birds, 78 were infected and died, while the remaining 22 were destroyed. All carcasses, by-products and waste have been properly disposed of, and the property has been disinfected.
A protection zone was established, and surveillance among that zone showed no other positive cases, OIE reported.
Testing of the birds was conducted at the National Reference Laboratory for Newcastle disease and avian influenza.
The cause or source of the infection has not been determined.
Earlier cases of Newcastle disease in Bulgaria
Less than a year ago, Bulgaria found itself it a situation in which it believed to be free of Newcastle disease, only to have it resurface.
The disease was detected in October 2016 in a backyard flock in the Bulgarian city of Montana. In that case, 19 of the 28 birds in the flock had died as a result of contracting Newcastle disease, while the remaining birds were destroyed.
After putting control measures in place, the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food’s Food Safety Agency deemed the country free of the disease in December. However, the agency reported a new case of Newcastle disease to the OIE about three weeks later. In that case, a backyard poultry flock in Vidin, near the Bulgaria-Romania border, was affected. In that case, 44 birds on the property died, and another 13 were destroyed.
In February 2017, the Vidin Newcastle disease situation was considered to be resolved.
