Exotic Newcastle Disease
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Emergency Management Warning 64:

Exotic Newcastle Disease Confirmed in the United States

All information in the following Notice marked with an asterisk (*) identifies changes since the last Notice was sent out.

* Exotic Newcastle disease (END) was confirmed on October 1, 2002, in the State of California, and has now spread beyond backyard flocks to affect 21 commercial operations in California. On January 16, 2003, END was also confirmed in a backyard flock in the State of Nevada. A backyard flock was confirmed with END on February 4, 2003, in the State of Arizona. Clinical signs in infected birds include respiratory, nervous, and gastrointestinal signs. Mortality is up to 90% of exposed birds. Investigations are on-going and all figures are pending final validation. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) personnel and other federal government personnel are working with the States to consider additional resources to meet the labor demands at the Task Forces. APHIS has developed a plan for national END surveillance. This plan will enhance the already extensive surveillance underway.

* Situation Update (as of 8:00 p.m. PST, March 19, 2003)

	Arizona	California	Nevada	Grand Total
Number of premises positive	1 (no change since 2/6)	* 848 (up 1 from 3/19)	10 (no change from 3/6)	* 859 (up 1 from 3/19)
Number of contact premises	3 (no change from 2/6)	* 1,528 (down 1 from 3/19)	128 (no change since 3/7)	* 1,659 (down 1 from 3/19)
Number of premises depopulated	4	* 2,251	138	* 2,393
Premises waiting to be depopulated	0	* 125	0	* 125
Birds depopulated to date	269	* 3,229,708	2,746	* 3,232,723
Counties currently with positive flocks	La Paz	Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Bernardino San Diego	Clark

Operational Update

• Effective January 7, 2003, APHIS imposed a federal quarantine that regulates the interstate movement of all species of birds and poultry products from Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties, CA.

• Effective January 17, 2003, APHIS imposed a federal quarantine that regulates the interstate movement of all species of birds and poultry products from Clark and a portion of Nye County, NV.

• Effective February 10, 2003, APHIS imposed a federal quarantine that regulates the interstate movement of all species of birds and poultry products from all of La Paz and Yuma Counties and a portion of Mohave County, AZ.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has declared an extraordinary emergency for the States of Arizona, California, and Nevada. These declarations allow USDA to apply federal authority within Arizona, California and Nevada.

• * Sequencing results have confirmed one new infected commercial premises located in San Bernardino County, CA.

• * Currently there are 21 commercial flocks in the State of California affected by END. The breakdown of the commercial premises involved is as follows: 4 premises in Riverside County (3 infected and 1 contact), 6 premises in San Diego County (6 infected), and 10 premises in San Bernardino County (11 infected).

• * Of the 2,518 premises designated for depopulation, 95.0% have been completed.

• The Inland Desert and South Coast ICP’s have realigned their service territories so that all of Los Angeles County will now be handled by the South Coast ICP. The South Coast ICP also will be responsible for all of San Diego County, except in cases involving commercial premises. Previously, the Inland Desert ICP handled portion of Los Angeles County, as well as certain areas of San Diego County (both backyard and commercial premises).

• The Central Valley Incident Command Post in Modesto, CA, is staffed and working cooperatively with approximately 15 – 20 county officials to implement efficient surveillance measures throughout the Central Valley.

• The Agriculture Multi-Agency Coordination (AgMAC) Group met on March 19, 2003, to discuss the END situation, resource availability, State personnel legislation, and future personnel needs. The AgMAC is scheduled to have follow-up meetings weekly to address these issues and any additional issues as they emerge.

• Task Force personnel, in close collaboration with the California State Highway Patrol, have agreed to establish an inspection station at the commercial truck weighing station on Interstate 5 at Castaic. Personnel will perform visual inspections of commercial vehicles that contain birds or poultry. Further, California State Highway Patrol officers will remain alert for commercial poultry vehicles they see in and around quarantine zones and those officers will notify the Task Force with any information pertinent to the Task Force mission.

Outreach Activities

• Task Force personnel at the Inland Desert Incident Command Post are distributing END educational materials in the utility bills of residents who live in areas highly affected by the virus.

• On a daily basis, Task Force personnel are communicating information concerning surveillance, depopulation, and cleaning and disinfection operations to all affected city managers in Southern California.

• Currently, Task Force information personnel field approximately 450 calls per week from the public through the Joint Information Center phone bank. This is a twenty-fold increase from the number of calls in October 2002. On average, approximately 300 of these calls require follow-up action by the Inland Desert or South Coast Incident Command Posts.

• The Task Force information staff provides daily updates to approximately 50 media outlets in California. In addition, in Area Command alone, the information staff field approximately 70 media calls per week.

Definitions

Emergency Management Issue is for information with no impact on APHIS.
Emergency Management Notice is an ongoing incident with potential impact on APHIS.
Emergency Management Warning is an ongoing incident with almost certain impact on APHIS.