Is biosecurity the best strategy against Newcastle disease?

The virulent strain of Newcastle disease (vND) affects the digestive, nervous and respiratory systems of poultry. Many birds infected with the contagious disease die without showing any clinical signs.

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KANIN.studio | AdobeStock.com
KANIN.studio | AdobeStock.com

The virulent strain of Newcastle disease (vND) affects the digestive, nervous and respiratory systems of poultry. Many birds infected with the contagious disease die without showing any clinical signs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Although it spreads quickly among birds, vND is not considered a major threat to human health. Exposure of humans to infected birds typically causes mild conjunctivitis or influenza-like symptoms.

Recent outbreaks

Newcastle disease has been eradicated in more than 15 states in the U.S. since 1950. The largest outbreaks in the country have occurred in California during the 1971-1974 and 2002-2003 time periods, while a smaller, yet still deadly vND outbreak happened in the state in 2018-2020.

Elsewhere in the world, an outbreak of Newcastle disease was detected in a backyard flock of birds in southwestern Russia in February 2019 and was resolved in February 2020. At the time, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) also reported that two cases of the disease in Israel – detected in June 2019 – were still unresolved.

Management strategies

Biosecurity is an important strategy used by poultry farmers to prevent the spread of Newcastle disease and other infectious diseases.

Fomites – physical carriers of contaminants like people, equipment, egg handling materials, feed sacks, wild animals or free-flying birds – can carry diseases between farms. Because of this, it is important that farms follow an all-in all-out concept, increase sanitation of all materials and implement strict employee sanitation practices.

Other farm biosecurity measures include keeping a visitor log, limiting people from visiting other farms within a certain time period and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Some farms use a stricter approach called tactical biosecurity when diseases are detected nearby, which implements a pre-movement isolation strategy that prohibits all visitors, garbage pickup and more and tests birds from uninfected farms twice over a two-day period.

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