Poultry exhibitions discouraged in 4 California counties

In an effort to bring the outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease (vND) in southern California under control, California State Veterinarian Annette Jones is recommending that all poultry exhibitions in Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura counties be cancelled.

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(Roy Graber)
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In an effort to bring the outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease (vND) in southern California under control, California State Veterinarian Annette Jones is recommending that all poultry exhibitions in Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura counties be cancelled.

Jones, on behalf of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, defines exhibitions as an assembly of birds (including but not limited to poultry) brought to the assembly location that include any public display. Examples of exhibitions include auctions, shows, swap meets, pet marts, fair exhibits, pigeon races, cock fights, pet stores and petting zoos. Public zoos are not included in Jones’ definition.

Southern California has been struggling with the vND outbreak since the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced its first case in a “backyard exhibition chicken” in Los Angeles County in May 2018.

Since that time, according to Jones, nearly 500,000 backyard and commercial birds have been euthanized. Included in that estimate were three commercial poultry flocks, all of which were located in Riverside County.

The most recent vND case in commercial poultry confirmed by APHIS was in a commercial layer flock that included at least 100,000 birds. That case was confirmed on January 10.

Prior to that, another commercial layer flock was affected. That case was confirmed on January 8, and there were 159,000 laying hens in that flock. The first case of vND in a commercial flock confirmed in California during this outbreak was in a flock of 110,000 layer pullets, and that case was announced on December 15, 2018.

Before the recent vND outbreak occurred, the last time there was a confirmed case of vND in a United States commercial poultry flock was in 2003, according to APHIS.

Before Jones recommended that poultry exhibitions in affected counties cease, she called for the culling of birds in certain communities within those four counties in an effort to control the spread of the disease.

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