Newcastle disease resurfaces in Bulgaria

About three weeks after Bulgaria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food reported that an outbreak of Newcastle disease in the country had been resolved, the disease has resurfaced.

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Kate Childers, Freeimages.com
Kate Childers, Freeimages.com

About three weeks after Bulgaria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food reported that an outbreak of Newcastle disease in the country had been resolved, the disease has resurfaced.

The Bulgarian agency on December 28 reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) that Newcastle disease had been detected in a backyard poultry flock in Vidin, near the Bulgaria-Romania border.

According to the OIE, 44 birds on the premises died, and another 13 were destroyed. The source of the outbreak has not yet been determined.

A 3-kilometer protection zone and a 10-kilometer surveillance zone have been put in place. Movement control and screening procedures are being applied, and the affected property is being disinfected.

OIE stated that it will submit weekly reports until the Newcastle disease situation is resolved.

Earlier Newcastle disease cases in the region

Animal health officials had been monitoring flocks in Bulgaria after Newcastle disease was discovered in another backyard flock in October. In that case 28 birds in the city of Montana, also near the Romanian border, were susceptible to Newcastle disease. Nineteen of those birds died, while the remaining nine were destroyed. Bulgarian officials reported to the OIE that the situation was resolved on December 7.

The most recent discovery marks the second time in 2016 when a country in the region was presumed to be free of Newcastle disease, only to have it resurface in rather short order.

In April, Romanian officials had reported to the OIE that it was free of Newcastle disease following an outbreak of the disease that affected more than 1,500 layer hens. One week later, Newcastle disease was discovered at a broiler farm than housed more than 70,000 chickens.

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