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January 20, 2003 to January 27, 2003
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Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA

Pet owners protest tactics used in battle against exotic Newcastle
By NAOMI KRESGE
STAFF WRITER

REF: http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~1140274,00.html

Bird lovers continued to call this week for more communication between the state's exotic Newcastle disease task force and the backyard bird owners whose pets they must euthanize.

A state spokeswoman maintained the task force is doing the best it can to explain to bird owners that the most effective way to stop the disease before it wipes out Southern California's poultry industry is to remove the birds that may carry it, including some that do not appear ill.

"Part of the problem is that they do not have to be infected for us to euthanize them," task force spokeswoman Laticia Rico said. "If our epidemiologist has gone in and taken a physical look and evaluated the premises and said, "OK, this site is affected and there's three sites next to it that have been exposed and this is the route of exposure'... if they have determined that there is an exposure route and those birds that are near the property are determined to be exposed, then they will euthanize the birds."

Exposure can be determined through foot traffic, she said, as well as the movement of animals rodents or even other livestock between neighboring poultry runs. Depending on the number of infected premises found, state officials will cast their net up to one kilometer around an infected area.

Bird owners, however, have complained since the task force went into action that state officials have been insensitive to their feelings as pet owners in the rush to stop the spread of the disease.

At a well-attended information meeting in Norco Thursday night, state Incident Commander Annette Whiteford blamed the problem partly on the burgeoning size of the force.

It has grown from under 100 personnel to more than 1,200 since it was formed in October 2001.

"What happens when you bring that many people in is you get people who are rude, are nasty and don't understand what we're doing here," she told the crowd. "I want their names, and we'll send them home."

One task force member has been relieved of duties, Rico confirmed.

Linda Stephens of Mira Loma is among those calling for a change in state tactics.

"I feel actually deceived by them as far as some of the information that they didn't come out with," she said. "I feel like they misled us with what was going on and what they were going to do."

She came home four days before Christmas to find that California Department of Food and Agriculture officials had served her husband an inspection warrant and euthanized her two Indian Ringneck parrots, five breeding pairs of lovebirds, seven chickens and numerous baby birds. She'd been served notice just over two weeks before that a flock had been found infected with exotic Newcastle disease in her area, she says, and that all birds within a one-kilometer radius would be destroyed.

She had told officials then to come back with a court order.

"They didn't inspect the birds at all," she said. "They didn't test the birds at all. They simply used the inspection warrant to come onto my property, and they proceeded, according to my husband, to put all the birds into these black plastic bags and spray them with carbon dioxide gas to destroy them.

"Parrots are not quiet birds, and when they're under a lot of stress there's a lot of screeching and chattering. They were very stressed out and almost screaming until the gas euthanized them."

Officials should remember that the birds they euthanize are pets, Mira Loma bird lover Bobbe Zimmerman said.

"They're missing the point, and I would just think they would handle it a little differently," she said. "'A lot of people have birds, and a lot of people care about them."

Naomi Kresge can be reached by e-mail at naomi.kresge@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8553.



The Press-Enterpise - CA

Spreading Newcastle
01/27/2003

THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

REF: http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/editorials/PE.OP.ED.2003.0127.b.613de72b.html

Exotic Newcastle disease, the killer of chickens, is potentially a $56 million calamity in Riverside County alone. That's the size of the county's egg industry, which last year led the state. But that barely begins to describe the magnitude of this crisis. National and even international alerts have been issued. When Newcastle breaks out, on the scale on which it's now being seen around here, bird-related industries worldwide hold their breath.

Here's a glimpse of what's happening: Despite a quarantine on Riverside, San Bernardino and surrounding California counties, Newcastle has now been found in at least one large backyard flock in Las Vegas, Nev. Nevada has no commercial industry to speak of. Still, states as distant as Utah and Oregon are taking their own defensive quarantine measures.

Meanwhile, there's a nationwide notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA is warning that certification of poultry and poultry products to some foreign countries may be affected. That's a disturbing new asterisk on foreign markets. Now a national industry worth $2.4 billion is engaged.

Closer to home, rules for burial at dumps of euthanized chickens have had to be tightened, to prevent contact with scavenging birds like crows and gulls; and the state is even "strongly" recommending the statewide suspension of "all poultry shows for the 2003 fair season."

Live poultry exhibits at next month's Riverside County Fair and International Date Festival in Indio are the first casualty of the directive. Members of 4-H and Future Farmers of America and others who have raised poultry for show at the fair will be unable to display live birds. But this just makes sense. They will have to find creative ways to demonstrate showmanship.

The big threat, of course, is that this tenacious disease could wipe out the poultry and egg industries in the Inland area, indeed, all Southern California. That's still the focus of this fight. But when the chill goes through this industry nationwide, the issue is put in perspective.

It took years to get the upper hand on the last outbreak, 30 years ago. It's a reminder that even as state and local agriculture officials make nimble adjustments in this fight, the latest Newcastle outbreak could, before it's done, affect everyday lives in ways we cannot predict right now.



WHSV, VA

Citizens Crowing to Keep Cockfighting Legal
Erin Tate

REF: http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/197556.html

Delegate Rob Bell of Albemarle County wants to prohibit animal fighting in Virginia and toughen the penalties for violators. But one man in Page County wants to keep his right to fight.

Al Taylor has been raising game birds for 50 years.

"I got hooked on game chickens when I was 10 years old. I think they're the most beautiful bird in the world. I admire them for their courage," says Taylor.

His backyard is home to 150 hens and roosters.

"Some of 'em I fight. Some of 'em I just keep," he admits.

Animal fighting is legal in Virginia as long as there is no gambling involved and no admission charges. But the law may soon change.

Delegate Bell is proposing legislation that would make dog fighting rules tougher and prohibit people from hosting or attending cockfights. Penalties would be increased and even the possession, training and selling of fighting animals and related equipment would become illegal.

Taylor says the legislation infringes upon the rights of game fowl breeders. He also fears his birds would be slaughtered by the state.

"If this passes who's to say that hunting, fishing, horse racing, what's next?" Taylor says.

Taylor and other members of Virginia's Cockfighting Association have been calling on local lawmakers to prevent Bell's bill from passing. And their fight is bringing them a lot of new and mostly unwanted attention.

"We as a society of game fowl fanciers try to keep it out of the public eye as much as we can because we know that there are people who are opposed to it," says Taylor.

Some local farmers fear fighting cocks will bring the lethal Exotic Newcastle Disease to Virginia. The Virginia Department of Agriculture says the disease was first detected among game birds in California.



Norristown Times Herald, PA

County to watch livestock

By: MARGARET GIBBONS, Times Herald Staff January 27, 2003

REF: http://www.timesherald.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1672&dept_id=33380&newsid=6829516&PAG=461&rfi=9

COURTHOUSE - The Montgomery County health department intends to enlist area veterinarians in the war against terrorism.

"When most people think of terrorism, they think of Sept. 11 or bio-terrorism such as anthrax or smallpox," said county Health Director Dr. Joseph M. DiMino. "But agro-terrorism is a very real danger in this country and county where farming still is one of the top industries."

Montgomery County had 44,500 acres of farmland spread among some 600 farms in 1999, according to the latest Pennsylvania agricultural statistics. The sale of livestock, dairy products and crops generated $33 million for that same year, according to state statistics. "It is much easier to start an epidemic among the animal population, where there is less surveillance, than in the human population," said Dr. Margaret Alonso, a veterinarian who is employed by the county health department.

While emphasizing that the current Exotic Newcastle disease epidemic on the West Coast cannot be attributed to terrorism, Alonso used the disease as an example of the havoc that such a virus can cause.

Until last year, the last major outbreak of the highly contagious disease was in 1971 when it struck commercial poultry flocks in southern California. Overall, 1,341 infected flocks or almost 12 million chickens had to be destroyed. Eradication efforts cost taxpayers $56 million, severely disrupted the operations of producers and increased the prices of poultry and poultry products to consumers, said Alonso.

The virus surfaced again last year, she said. Initially confined to California, there is now a report that the disease has been found in Nevada, according to Alonso.

There are 28 countries refusing to accept poultry products from California, and the European market has banned all poultry products from the United States, said Alonso.

"The rapid spread of diseases among livestock and poultry is scary," said DiMino. Although many of these diseases do not impact humans, "they can wreak havoc with the economy," said DiMino.

Also, there are many diseases, viruses and bacteria such as "mad cow" disease, E. coli and listeria that can cause serious illness and even death among humans, DiMino said.

"Unlike bio-terrorism weapons such as smallpox, anthrax and Ebola, diseases, viruses and bacteria that attack livestock and crops are more readily accessible," said DiMino.

Surveillance in identifying these situations also is a problem, he said.

"Veterinarians often are not brought in until a farmer exhausts all measures of their own to address the problem," said Alonso. "This can be because a farmer simply cannot afford veterinarian services or because they fear that they will have to start killing off their animals. By that time, the disease is spreading."

In addition, there is very little coordinated communication among veterinarians and farmers from one county to another and one state to another, DiMino said.

DiMino said that Montgomery County is working with Chester County, which also has a large farm industry, to coordinate agro-terrorism efforts and define the health department's role in such efforts.

The joint effort will be looking at at least three options. These options include: - Information source for the public and professionals.

- Actively soliciting information from primary reporters such as veterinarians and farm agents and the state's agricultural department to compile and analyze data.

- Investigational agent similar to that that parallels current reportable human disease functions.

"We have to be pro-active in this area because the earlier a problem surfaces, the quicker action can be taken and disaster avoided," DiMino said. ~

"We have to be prepared for anything," he said. "Who, until Sept. 11, ever thought people would hijack planes and crash them into buildings."

"Terrorism can come at us through our food and through our economy," said DiMino. Margaret Gibbons can be reached at mgibbons@timesherald.com or 610-272-2501 ext. 216.

©The Times Herald 2003



CFBF

Monday, January 27, 2003

REF: http://www.cfbf.com/ffn/2003/ffn-01_27_03.html

New farm struck by poultry disease

Another commercial poultry farm has been hit by exotic Newcastle disease. State and federal officials fighting the disease announced (Friday) that it has been found at an egg farm in Riverside County. The farm's 250 thousand laying hens will be destroyed. The newly affected farm is the sixth commercial operation hit by the disease, which kills birds but does not harm people.



Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA

Exotic Newcastle hits 6th poltry farm
Article Last Updated: Sunday, January 26, 2003 - 12:04:35 AM MST

REF: http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~1137138,00.html

RIVERSIDE COUNTY — A commercial poultry ranch in Riverside County has been found to be infected with the exotic Newcastle disease, bringing the number of infected commercial farms to six in recent weeks.

The location of the ranch was not disclosed.

It contains approximately 250,000 birds, bringing the number of commercial poultry in Southern California slated for slaughter by a federal-state task force to 2 million. So far, about 1.5 million birds at six commercial establishments - including two apiece in San Bernardino and Riverside counties - have been slaughtered in an attempt to stem the outbreak, officials said.

Officials have thus far declined to identify the affected premises, saying public disclosure inhibits their efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

Exotic Newcastle disease is highly contagious and almost always deadly to poultry and other birds but poses no health threat to humans. The outbreak caused state officials to impose a quarantine on six Southern California counties, limiting the movement of poultry out of the area.

The outbreak also has swelled the numbers of workers on a federal-state task force to more than 1,100 in recent weeks.

David Bradvica (909) 483-9318



Hampton Roads Daily Press, VA

Officials ask for help to prevent outbreak of virulent avian illness

By the Associated Press

Published January 25, 2003

REF: http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va--birddisease0125jan25,0,5425865.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia agriculture officials are asking for help to prevent a deadly bird disease from spreading into the state.

The illness, called Exotic Newcastle Disease, has hit poultry flocks in California, where it has cost growers millions of dollars and led to quarantines that have shut down much of the state's poultry industry. Last week, the first case outside California was discovered in a backyard chicken flock in Nevada.

Officials with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Friday asked everyone involved with birds in the state "to observe basic principles of biosecurity" to prevent the disease from entering the state.

Such principles, the department said, include sanitation measures such as disinfecting footwear, and surveillance measures such as barring birds from exhibitions if they have been involved in similar events in areas where the disease has been detected.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is highly contagious and usually deadly to infected birds. "All species of birds are susceptible," noted state agriculture commissioner J. Carlton Courter III, "so this is a threat to pet bird breeders, pet owners, our entire poultry industry and possibly even wild birds."

An outbreak of avian influenza last year led to the destruction of nearly 5 million chickens and turkeys on nearly 200 Virginia poultry farms, at a cost to poultry growers estimated at more than $140 million.

Agriculture experts consider avian flu a much less threatening illness than Exotic Newcastle Disease, which, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, "is probably one of the most infectious diseases of poultry in the world."

Symptoms of the disease include respiratory problems such as coughing and sneezing, and neurological problems including circling and paralysis. The death rate among unvaccinated birds is close to 100 percent, and even vaccinated birds can be killed by the disease, according to the USDA, which also notes that "many birds die without showing any clinical signs."

Copyright © 2003, Daily Press



Las Vegas Review Journal, NV

EXOTIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE: Birds killed to stall virus

Task force eradicates domesticated birds in area around site where disease was first found in valley

By FRANK GEARY

REF: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2003/Jan-25-Sat-2003/news/20550442.html

Las Vegas Kill Zone


Ruby Perring's 15-year-old web-footed friend Gus and 485 other geese, chickens, turkeys, pigeons and peacocks were killed this week in the first step of what could be a months-long campaign to contain a virus that kills domesticated birds.

"The boys in the white suits came with the hats and the masks and everything," Perring, 75, said after a team of federal inspectors eradicated her birds Wednesday under threat of a court order. "I had 87 birds altogether. ... They caught them all and they gassed them all."

The Exotic Newcastle virus, which was first detected east of North Las Vegas about two weeks ago, is not harmful to humans, but can be spread through contact with them, officials say.

The disease, which hit parts of Florida in the 1980s and struck Southern California about three months ago, could harm other area birds and devastate the poultry industry in neighboring Utah, said Nolan Lemon, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As a result, a special federal task force of about 40 veterinarians and 80 other field workers arrived in Las Vegas this week, and they expect to have an office set up by Monday.

To contain the Newcastle virus, Agriculture Department inspectors have paid 24 owners up to $75 each for the birds they must eradicate within a one-kilometer radius of the property where the virus was first detected, north of the intersection of Lake Mead Boulevard and Walnut Road.

"What we are doing is setting up surveillance areas, which are like a barrier around the infected areas. ... And the idea is to restrict its (the virus's) movement and its spread," Lemon said. "While there is no human-health threat associated with Exotic Newcastle virus, it is possible for humans to carry the virus on their clothes, shoes and hands."

Residents are urged to contact the federal task force if their birds get ill, or if they know of a bird owner in the infection zone, Lemon said. The disease hits some bird species, such as chickens and turkeys, harder than others, such as parrots, he said.

While the virus can infect wild birds, studies done on about 1,000 wild birds in the 1970s failed to demonstrate that there was a significant negative impact on them, Lemon said.

Symptoms such as fatigue, respiratory problems, sneezing, paralysis, watery feces, and laying eggs without shells typically precede the death of a bird. There is no cure for the disease, and federal inspectors don't know how the virus surfaced in Southern Nevada.

"One of the things we are investigating in California is whether illegal hens came into the country for illegal cock fighting," Lemon said.

Bird owners are urged to feed their domesticated birds in their coops rather than by spreading feed on the ground; to make certain caged birds are kept indoors and away from possible infection; and to spray their feet, and wash their hands, with disinfectants to prevent the spread through human contact, Lemon said.

They also are urged to call an Agriculture Department hot line with their concerns at 515-5200.

"You cannot have a successful eradication program without the cooperation of the community. ... Timing is everything. The faster the better," he said. "People have been astute in telling us when they have sick birds and when their neighbors have sick birds."

All of Clark County and southern Nye County are under a quarantine until further notice, which means farmers, bird lovers, hunting clubs and pet stores are prohibited from transporting birds, said Fred Henson, a state game warden. Nobody knows how long it will take to control the virus, but a similar effort is going into its fourth month in Southern California.

A member of an Agriculture Department cleanup crew on Perring's property said Friday that the task force has rented its trucks and equipment for six months.

"We are not concerned about the wildlife," Henson said. "But, we have shut down all movement of birds, and that is a problem because we have a lot of permittees (business owners) and they can't move their birds."

Hyke Riley, owner of the Bahnna Bird Farm in Las Vegas since 1974, said the federal ban on selling birds might force him to close his business. However, he won't go bankrupt because he also sells golf carts and batteries for cars and recreational vehicles, he said.

"It will probably put us out of the bird business," he said. "We haven't sold any, and we wouldn't sell any anyway because everybody is afraid to buy a bird after hearing about this disease."

However, for bird owners such as Perring, the Exotic Newcastle virus is paying off. Before the extermination of her animals, Perring would occasionally sell geese for about $20, peacocks for about $30. The Agriculture Department, however, paid her $75 for each of her peacocks, $30 for each goose and $20 for the fantail peacocks that previously she had given away, assuming anyone wanted one.

In all, Perring said she received about $1,800 for the 87 birds that her stepson had left her after he died in 1995, she said.

"They paid pretty well," Perring said. "I could never get the money they were paying. I sold geese for $20 and $25, and they paid me $30 no matter what kind of goose it was."



The Press-Enterprise

Disease found at egg farm
NEWCASTLE: The discovery is the second reported among Riverside County egg operations.

01/25/2003

REF: http://www.pe.com/business/local/PE_BIZ_nnewcst25.a1360.html

By LESLIE BERKMAN
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

Despite tightened biosecurity, exotic Newcastle disease continues to spread within the Inland Empire's egg industry, with state and federal authorities confirming on Friday that another Riverside County ranch with about 250,000 chickens has been found to be infected.

"Depopulation will begin as soon as possible," said the joint governmental task force, which declined to identify the ranch involved. The task force also said: "Biosecurity measures at all egg production and egg-processing facilities are being monitored and evaluated."

It is the second egg ranch in Riverside County -- California's leading egg-producing county -- where the disease has been detected. Riverside and San Bernardino counties in 2001 produced $82 million worth of eggs.

With the new find, about 2 million hens are marked for destruction at five commercial farms in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties as part of an eradication campaign. In addition, 75,362 birds have been destroyed in back yards, where the current outbreak of the disease was discovered Oct. 1.

Authorities say they want to prevent a repeat of the devastation to the Southern California egg industry that occurred during the last widespread outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease in the mid 1970s.

Exotic Newcastle is usually fatal to chickens. Authorities say the eggs and meat of infected hens will not harm humans, but the disease can cause pinkeye in people who come in direct contact with the virus.

State and federal agricultural officials have kept confidential the names of the ranches where the disease has been found and the amount of money paid to individual farmers as compensation for killing their birds.

On Friday, state Department of Food and Agriculture quarantine signs were visible on fences surrounding the Norco headquarters of Norco Ranch, one of the area's largest and best-known egg producers.

The farm posted with quarantine signs is called H&H Ranch and has 245,000 hens. Authorities said the latest ranch found infected with exotic Newcastle disease has "approximately 250,000" birds.

Larry Cooper, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said egg ranches are quarantined when they are suspected of harboring the virus.

When Annette Whiteford, a CDFA veterinary medical officer and commander of the exotic Newcastle disease task force, was asked whether Norco Ranch was the new infected commercial operation, she replied, "No comment."

Norco Ranch, along with several other large egg farms, was purchased in recent years by Missouri-based Moark LLC, an egg industry giant. Norco Ranch has 3 million egg-laying hens in the Inland area.

The other Riverside County egg ranch where exotic Newcastle disease was diagnosed in chickens in December is Orchard Egg Farms near Riverside. It was identified by Mary Cramer, wife of the owner. Orchard Egg Farms sent its eggs to Norco Ranch for processing.

Norco Ranch also may be linked to a San Bernardino County ranch where exotic Newcastle disease was found. Government authorities have not disclosed the location of that egg farm, but they did say it was home to 1 million hens that had to be euthanized.

Six vehicles belonging to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the CDFA were seen at E&M Ranch in Fontana the same day that workers were seen removing chickens -- some dead and some alive -- from the property and tossing them into a container at the back of a large truck. E&M Ranch is owned by Norco Ranch.

On Friday, trucks going in and out of Norco Ranch were sprayed with disinfectant, one of many biosecurity measures that have become commonplace in the egg industry since the exotic Newcastle disease outbreak.

Neither Moark nor Norco Ranch officials were available Friday to comment.

Reach Leslie Berkman at (909) 893-2111 or lberkman@pe.com



Honolulu Advertiser, HI

Posted on: Saturday, January 25, 2003
Bird owners told to be on lookout for disease

Advertiser Staff
REF: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jan/25/ln/ln30a.html

Veterinarians and bird owners are being asked to check their birds for signs of Exotic Newcastle Disease.

State Veterinarian James Foppoli said the disease is highly contagious among birds and nearly 100 percent fatal to unvaccinated poultry. Exotic Newcastle is not a serious threat to humans, but may cause eye irritation in people who work with infected birds.

To try to prevent the virus from becoming established in Hawai'i, the state Department of Health has prohibited the importation of any birds from 10 Southern California counties after the disease was found there last fall. A ban also is in place on the importation of chickens and turkeys from all of California.

Symptoms of Exotic Newcastle in birds include respiratory problems, coughing and sneezing, listlessness, circling and paralysis, high mortality in flocks and decreased egg production. Birds may catch the virus through contact with infected birds or from contaminated materials, such as the clothing or shoes of humans who have been exposed to infected birds.

Anyone with birds that show signs of the disease should call the Department of Agriculture at 837-8092.



CFBF

January 24, 2003

REF: http://www.cfbf.com/ffn/2003/ffn-01_24_03.html

Quarantine affects pet birds

The poultry disease quarantine in Southern California has stopped sales of pet birds outside the region. Hundreds of hobbyists breed birds such as parakeets, cockatiels and finches, then sell them to wholesalers throughout the US. But the birds are now quarantined, even if they are disease free. Although government agencies pay owners of diseased birds that are destroyed, there is no provision to compensate owners for healthy pet birds that cannot be sold.



Inland Valley Voice

January 24, 2003

Avian disease task force meets with bird owners

By Staff Reports, Inland Valley Voice

REF: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ontario/news/la-ivo-birdmeet24jan24.story

Officials from an avian disease eradication task force met Thursday night with bird owners in Norco to talk about the government's response to an outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease.

Task force members are conducting community meetings as required or desired by bird owners and the public.

The disease, which is not harmful to humans, was first found in backyard flocks in Los Angeles County in October. It has since spread to San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties. State and federal task force workers have destroyed or will destroy more than 1.7 million birds in their efforts to prevent the disease from spreading. Five commercial egg-producing facilities have been hit by the disease, and nearly 6,900 backyards are under quarantine.

Task force officials also have conducted meetings in the Jurupa Valley and in Muscoy, state Agriculture Department spokesman Larry Cooper said, adding that most residents want to learn why entire flocks are being killed. The disease has a nearly 100% mortality rate in unvaccinated flocks.

"Rumors can proliferate and we want to give more balanced information," Cooper said.

The task force's toll-free information line is (800) 491-1899.

More information is available on the state Agriculture Department's Web site: www.cdfa.ca.gov.



Daily Pilot, Los Angeles Times - CA

January 24, 2003

Bird shows at Fairgrounds in jeopardy

Avian disease spreading across Southern California may force the elimination of competitions and exhibits, including at the Orange County Fair.

By Deirdre Newman, Daily Pilot

REF: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/pilot/news/la-dpt-newcastle24jan24.story

FAIRGROUNDS -- One of the most heartwarming pleasures of the Orange County Fair is the chance to hold a baby chick in your hands.

This rare opportunity may be eliminated, along with poultry shows, competitions and bird exhibits because of Exotic Newcastle disease, which is running rampant through Southern California.

All of the chickens, quails, ducks and peacocks that call the fairgrounds home have already been quarantined to prevent them from catching the virus.

On Thursday, the fair board will vote on the state's recommendation to cancel any shows and exhibits involving poultry or birds for the 2003 fair season.

Since these events provide a significant educational component for students in 4-H and Future Farmers of America, officials said they will explore other ways of accommodating these students.

They will also integrate Newcastle disease and its ramifications into the educational program.

"The one thing about agriculture is, it is all about life, and sometimes there are diseases and sometimes there are things we have to do that don't make for the best educational experience and we have to deal with it, and we'll make that part of our learning for young people," said Becky Bailey-Findley, general manager of the fair.

Exotic Newcastle first hit Southern California in October. Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency in the fight against the disease in early January. While Newcastle does not pose a threat to humans, it is easily spread by people who have been around animals with the disease.

So far, none of the vulnerable animals at the fairgrounds have been affected. Although they are protected behind extra fencing, they are still on display in their normal viewing areas.

The board will also consider eliminating the poultry and bird shows from the Youth Expo this spring, Bailey-Findley said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN may be reached at (949) 574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.


NOTE: Here is an example of a very irresponsible headline destined to turn into one of those internet rumors.

WHSV, VA

Deadly Disease Threatens Virginia Birds

Exotic Newcastle Disease Worse Than Avian Influenza
Erin Tate

January 24, 2003

REF: http://www.whsv.com/news/headlines/194956.html

"It's the hoof and mouth disease of poultry. In other words, it's deadly," explains John Koontz of Koontz Family Farms in Mount Jackson.

A new breed of bird disease has poultry producers on pins and needles. Exotic Newcastle Disease is even more lethal than the Avian Influenza that infected 4.7 million of the Commonwealth's turkeys and chickens last year.

That flu swept through 200 Virginia farms and cost the industry $130 million. Now, poultry growers say they can't afford another flock-devastating disease.

Hobey Bauhan, President of the Virginia Poultry Federation says, "We're already practicing strict bio-security around here but we just need to be vigilant."

Exotic Newcastle Disease has only been detected in California and Nevada, but it's highly contagious and Valley farmers fear the worst.

The disease poses an 80 percent chance of mortality, starting with symptoms like coughing, sneezing, walking In circles, showing signs of paralysis and decreased egg production. It was first found among gaming birds and Koontz knows locally, that cock-fighting, although illegal, is common.

"Some of the counties around here have a lot of game birds and fighting chickens so it's quite a threat to us and to the poultry business as a whole," he says.

Bauhan says he hopes the disease will be controlled and eradicated on the West Coast.

"But we need to do everything possible to avoid it and that means bio-security, bio-security, bio-security," he says.

Koontz keeps a healthy farm by regularly disinfecting truck tires, boots, clothes and equipment. Such precautions saved his 84 thousand birds from the Avian flu.

He just hopes they'll save his flocks from Exotic Newcastle Disease, too.

The disease affects all birds, from commercial poultry to your pets at home.



Los Angeles Times, Inland Valley Voice

Fine feathered friends in peril
Bird owners face loss of pets as officials move to stop exotic Newcastle disease.

Sue Swallow kisses Easter Peep, one of the 17 chickens, 22 ducks and two geese
she and her husband, Mike, keep as pets. The birds have been quarantined due to the recent
outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease. (CHRIS URSO / IVV)


January 23, 2003

By Matthew Chin, Inland Valley Voice

REF: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ontario/la-ivo-birds23jan23.story

MUSCOY -- Bob LaMar dreaded this day.

Members of a state and federal task force were expected to roll up to his rural property about breakfast time to kill his 300 ducks, geese and other birds.

In an ongoing effort to stamp out exotic Newcastle disease, a deadly avian virus, LaMar's birds, including some rare species, have been declared dangerous, a hazard to themselves and neighboring flocks.

LaMar learned of the death sentence a couple of weeks ago and vowed to protect his birds but, in the end, there wasn't much he could do. Officials said they would return with a sheriff's deputy and a search warrant, if necessary, he said. They said LaMar could face prosecution if he delayed their work.

"They don't care what you have if you're in the depopulation area, or the hot zone," he said Wednesday.

The mixture of fear and anger is shared by Mike and Sue Swallow of Norco and hundreds of other bird owners across Southern California, where six counties -- San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Orange and Ventura -- are under quarantine to prevent the disease from spreading.

The Swallows have 17 chickens, 22 ducks and two geese in their backyard. The birds are pets, with names to fit their personalities, and the couple treats them well. They've taken steps to prevent their birds from becoming infected -- limiting access, making sure their shoes are clean before stepping into the yard -- but even healthy birds may be destroyed. LaMar was told his birds would be destroyed because there appeared to be strong links between his flock and infected flocks.

The Swallows say they'll take any steps necessary to prevent the destruction of their pets.

"These aren't just a commodity, these are my babies and I'll defend them," Mike Swallow said. "They're not going to come back and take them. We rescued these guys, and some of them hatched in my hand."

Officials say killing birds is necessary to eliminate exotic Newcastle disease before it spreads to the heart of California's poultry industry, the Central Valley. So far 1.7 million birds in 1,300 backyard or commercial flocks across Southern California have or will be destroyed since the outbreak was discovered in October.

The disease is highly contagious and almost always fatal to most species of birds, officials said. More than 900 people are working to eradicate the disease, identifying infected flocks and destroying and disposing of birds.

"If we don't take the birds, the chances are that they'll die because they're exposed to the virus," state agriculture department spokesman Larry Cooper said. "Our biggest challenge is getting people to understand how serious this is."

LaMar, 73, has been raising birds for about 30 years and hopes to raise them again once the region is free of disease. Owners will be compensated at "fair market value" for birds that are destroyed, officials said.

The birds are killed on site, thrown into covered containers and driven by truck to area landfills, officials said. The disease task force recommends landfill workers cover the birds with dirt after they are dumped. The recommendation, put in place Monday, followed complaints that the disease could spread to wild birds picking at the carcasses, Cooper said.

Peter Wulfman, manager of the county agency that oversees Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill in north Rialto where many of the birds and infected equipment are being buried, said he hadn't heard of the recommendation until Wednesday afternoon. Landfill workers had been covering the carcasses with trash and then burying the entire areas with dirt at the end of each day. Landfill workers are armed with noisemakers to scare away birds.

Wulfman said starting today the carcasses will be covered with dirt immediately after they are dumped.

The last major outbreak in Southern California commercial poultry flocks occurred in 1971. More than 1,300 flocks were identified, and almost 12 million birds were destroyed. The eradication program cost taxpayers $56 million.



Daily Republic, CA

Quarantine forces poultry showing ban at county, Dixon fairs

By Joe Plicka

REF: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/display/inn_news/NEWS6.TXT

DIXON -- The outbreak of a highly contagious bird disease in Southern California prompted the Solano County Fair and the Dixon May Fair to ban all poultry shows until further notice.

Exotic Newcastle Disease has the potential to wipe out the poultry industry, although it is not a danger to human health, Gov. Gray Davis said recently. On Jan. 8 the governor declared a state of emergency and ordered quarantines in six counties in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.

More than 3 million birds have been destroyed as a result of the infection, said Carroll Zensius, Solano County Fair program manager.

"They haven't extended the ban to Northern California, but I really think it is prudent (to ban poultry at the fair)," Zensius said. "If it comes in it can spread very quickly from flock to flock."

The last outbreak of Exotic Newcastle in California was in 1971, infecting 1,300 flocks and killing 12 million birds. Many birds may die without even showing symptoms.

"You can vaccinate, but even with a vaccine flocks can lose 10 to 20 percent of their birds," Zensius said.

The Solano County Fair will prohibit all poultry including chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, doves, ostriches, and more. Even birds such as parrots will be turned away, Zensius said, because they too can be infected and often travel from fair to fair.

In addition, the junior poultry show at the Dixon May Fair has been canceled, Dixon Fairgrounds manager Mike Green said.

"We can have nothing feathered at the fair," said Sharon Violette, exhibits supervisor for the Dixon May Fair.

According to Zensius, the ban could extend into next year if the outbreak isn't brought under control. If it continues, the disease could force the price of poultry and eggs to rise.

More information on Exotic Newcastle Disease can be found on the California Department of Food and Agriculture Web site, www.cdfa.ca.gov, and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Web site, www.aphis.usda.gov.

Joe Plicka can be reached at jplicka@dailyrepublic.net.



Daily Breeze, CA

Friday, January 24, 2003
Bird owners worried about Newcastle disease

VIRUS: Many in the South Bay also say they fear officials will overreact and kill their pets needlessly.

By Jasmine Lee
DAILY BREEZE



REF: http://dailybreeze.com/content/bln/nmbirds24.html

Like a protective mother hen, South Bay resident Tammy Carreiro is keeping a close eye on her brood of six exotic birds.

She keeps them hidden indoors. Anyone with contact with other birds is barred from crossing her threshold. After coming home from the feed store, Carreiro diligently takes off her clothes in the garage and showers right away before handling her beloved pets. Outside lurks the threat of Exotic Newcastle Disease, a virus deadly to birds. Authorities have already euthanized more than 1 million birds, mostly chickens, in California since the outbreak started in September.

“Until it’s over with, my birds are not going out,” Carreiro declared.

Although mostly known as the “poultry disease,” Newcastle is highly contagious and almost always fatal in most birds. It does not, however, harm humans nor does it affect meat or eggs.

The latest strain of Newcastle was discovered in game fowl in Compton, and has spread throughout Southern California. Eight counties — including Los Angeles — are under quarantine, which means birds cannot be taken out of the area and into uninfected counties. Authorities have developed the Exotic Newcastle Disease task force to combat the still-spreading virus.

State and federal officials, along with the news media, have focused on the effects to California’s $3 billion poultry industry.

So Carreiro — a member of the South Bay Bird Society and the Parrot Society of Los Angeles — and other exotic bird lovers are taking on the task of educating the public about the threat to pet birds.

There is no vaccine or treatment, and symptoms include tremors and involuntary shaking, paralysis, respiratory difficulty and weight loss.

So far, there are no confirmed cases of Newcastle in psittacines — the bird family that parrots belong to.

Patrick Ryan, chief veterinarian for the county’s Department of Health Services, said it is difficult to track the disease in domestic birds because there is no agency that regulates the pets. County shelters have been banned from adopting out any birds, and bird owners have also started dumping off unwanted pets after news of Newcastle broke, he said.

“As far as preventing the disease, the best thing is don’t let your birds out of your sight,” Ryan said.

At the Animal Lovers Pet Shop in Torrance, customers are invited to wash up with a footbath and antibacterial hand wash before entering the bird and reptile specialty store.

“Just for our precaution, and for our customers’ precaution, we just put that there,” said manager Agustin Ibarra. “You don’t know what you’re stepping on.”

Many customers do know about Newcastle; many only learn about it from store employees, Ibarra said. The pet shop can still sell birds to customers within Los Angeles County, but if an infection is found nearby, authorities can close it.

Bird shows across Southern California have been canceled. Bird clubs are asking members to leave their pets at home.

Daina Castellano, also a member of the Parrot Society, is working with Carreiro to compile information about the disease and raise public awareness.

“Part of the problem is that people don’t understand the cognitive nature of birds,” Castellano said.

It’s easy to dismiss the euthanasia as insignificant by saying, “it’s just birds,” she said.

Parrot owners find joy, not only in their pets’ speaking abilities, but also their personalities and intelligence. For those who live with birds, they are companion animals, just like a dog or a cat.

“If they were doing this to dogs and cats, there would be heck to pay,” Carreiro said.

Armed with a warrant, state and federal agriculture officials can destroy any birds in a high-risk area without testing them for the virus. Owners are compensated at fair market value. In Littlerock, a city near Palmdale, one bird owner lost chickens, racing pigeons, peacocks, pheasants, ducks, canaries and cockatiels — more than 500 birds in all — when authorities “depopulated” the flocks after detecting the disease in some chickens.

Larry Cooper, a spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease task force, could not be reached for comment.

In 1971, a major outbreak occurred in commercial poultry flocks in Southern California. The disease threatened not only the state’s poultry industry but the entire U.S. poultry and egg supply. In all, 1,341 infected flocks were identified, and nearly 12 million birds were destroyed. The eradication program cost taxpayers $56 million and increased the prices of poultry to consumers.

Carreiro said parrot owners would like to join in the effort to fight Newcastle, if they were kept informed.

“It’s important to us, we’re all for getting rid of Newcastle,” she said. “It’s a death sentence.”

But, she is fighting the lack of information provided to bird owners and the unnecessary killing of birds.

There is an appeal process for bird owners who are served with a warrant, but Carreiro rhetorically asked what good is an appeal when the pet is already dead.

State and federal authorities are using an outdated quarantine protocol in their attempt to get rid of Newcastle, said Bill Klein, an agricultural biologist who has worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Birds should not be euthanized unless they test positive for the virus.

Carreiro is fairly certain her birds will not become ill. She’s much more frightened that authorities will take her birds and gas them.

For Carreiro and her husband, their six birds are family. They all eat dinner together.

Shasta, a snowy white umbrella cockatoo, is shy and likes to be scratched under her wings. Another parrot, a severe macaw named Bubba, is a little clumsy. Yet another of her parrots, Keister, has a vocabulary of 40 words.

“I know we’re not going to save all the parrots,” Carreiro said. “But we do have some rights.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

. If you observe symptoms in your bird, notify the Exotic Newcastle Disease task force hotline at 800-491-1899.

Publish Date:January 24, 2003



Pahrump Valley Times, NV

PV remains under bird quarantine



By:HENRY BREAN, Managing Editor January 24, 2003 REF: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1125&dept_id=99545&newsid=6809301&PAG=461&rfi=9

Disease outbreak in Las Vegas harmless to humans, deadly for birds

Pet birds and poultry in the Pahrump Valley and all of Clark County remain under quarantine today, as agriculture officials work to contain an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease.

Last week, State Veterinarian David Thain confirmed the presence of the highly contagious disease in a backyard chicken flock in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, an official from the Bureau of Land Management was in Pahrump to distribute information about the disease and the quarantine. The BLM is assisting the Nevada Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture with its effort to contain the outbreak.

Exotic Newcastle Disease, or END, does not pose a risk to humans, but it is extremely dangerous to birds of every kind. According to a release from the Nevada Department of Agriculture, "END is probably one of the most infectious diseases of poultry in the world" and is "so virule

Birds can be vaccinated against END but still contract the disease, which is fatal nearly 100 percent of the time. A bird need not look sick to spread the disease.

The quarantine prohibits the movement or sale of all birds in Clark County and in Nye County south of Amargosa Valley. Nye County Animal Control Officer Barbara Schnaible said there have been no cases of the disease found here, but Pahrump was included in the quarantine to provide a "safety zone" for the state's poultry industry and wild bird population.

Schnaible didn't know how many local residents might be impacted by the quarantine. "A lot of people have chickens, but as far as chicken farms, I don't know of any out here."

Residents are asked to report any dead bird they find on their property that shows no signs of trauma, Schnaible said. "And that's whether it's domestic or a wild bird." Reports can be made to the special END hotline, (702) 515-5200. A toll-free number also will be available soon.

According to what agriculture officials have told her, Schnaible said the quarantine is expected to last for at least another two weeks.

The disease does not affect the safety of poultry and egg products. For those who own birds or have regular contact with someone else's birds, agriculture officials recommend the following precautions:

Keep your birds at home; don't move them to another location.

Check your birds daily for signs of illness and immediately report any problems.

Don't visit live bird markets or other places where the disease may be present. You could transport it back to your own birds.

As of Wednesday evening, 309 birds from the infected flock in Las Vegas and four other premises have been humanely destroyed. All five sites where infected birds were "depopulated" are located within the same one-kilometer circle, said Ed Foster, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

Funds are available to compensate flock owners at fair market value for birds that must be destroyed because of the disease.

Agriculture officials continue to battle a widespread outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease discovered in Southern California in October. As of this month, 5,712 premises had been quarantined there, including more than 1,200 containing birds infected with END. Those flocks have been or will be humanely destroyed and the affected premises are being cleaned and disinfected.

If your birds become sick and die, or you are afraid your birds or a neighbor's birds might be infected, you should call the END hotline - (702) 515-5200 - immediately. That is also the number to call if you want more information on END and the quarantine. Information is also available on the Nevada Department of Agriculture's website, www.agri.state.nv.us, and under the "hot issues" link on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's site, www.aphis.usda.gov.

The Nye County Animal Shelter (751-7020) will also try to answer any questions you may have, Schnaible said.

©Pahrump Valley Times 2003



San Luis Obispo Tribune

Posted on Fri, Jan. 24, 2003

Chickens scratched at nearby SB fair
Disease may lead Mid-State Fair to do likewise
Carol Roberts
The Tribune

REF: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/5022142.htm

The Santa Barbara County fair has canceled its poultry shows this year in hopes of stopping the spread of the deadly exotic Newcastle disease that has led officials to kill millions of birds in Southern California. The Mid-State Fair is expected to follow suit next month.

This news will cause dozens of county 4-H and FFA members to change their plans from chickens and turkeys to other animals.

"It's disappointing, but it's OK," said Mario Scalzo, the 11-year-old Oceano boy who had the 4-H grand champion turkey at the Santa Barbara fair last year. His prize-winning market bird sold for $675 last year "and all that money went into my college fund."

Like his twin sister, Kalee, he had planned to raise a turkey again this year. He'll probably take a pig to the fair this year, and Kalee may raise a lamb or dairy cow.

The Newcastle reports have given them enough lead time to find another project, Mario said.

The twins have enjoyed raising turkeys for the fair because they're fairly easy in the four months it takes to get them ready.

"It's still a lot of responsibility," said Mario, "and you learn a lot. You have to feed it, bathe it, walk it and play with it."

The disease hasn't been found in this county, but state and federal agriculture officials fear the spread of the disease could taint the multibillion-dollar Southern California poultry industry.

More than 1.7 million chickens have been slaughtered as a precaution in Southern California since the virus was first found there in September.

Arroyo Grande High School's FFA adviser Steve DeRose said some of his students had been thinking about raising turkeys for the fair, but they hadn't started. "I had to tell them they won't be able to do it this year," DeRose said, "but they'll find other projects."

State Secretary of Agriculture Bill Lyons Jr. has asked all the fairs to cancel poultry activities, said Mid-State Fair executive officer John Alkire.

His fair board will take a final vote Feb. 19, but he expects it to follow Lyon's request because of the highly contagious disease. The Santa Barbara County Fair's board voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to forgo poultry this year.

Last year's Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles drew about 50 exhibitors with 100 birds, Alkire said. "On the bright side, we're giving the 4-Hers and FFA members enough time to find other projects."

Still, turkeys are a favorite for kids exhibiting at a fair -- especially for the first time, said Kathy Tompkins, a 4-H poultry leader in the South County. Chickens and turkeys, she added, are feasible projects for kids who don't live on farms.

She'll continue to teach her group about poultry, Tompkins said. "They'll just be making posters on different size eggs, beaks, and Newcastle disease instead of hands on."

Rabbits or meat goats, she said, might be good alternative fair projects.

There's something special about being at a fair and having a live project there to care for, Tompkins said. She and other 4-H leaders will be meeting to see how to keep kids who don't have large animals feeling involved.

"There are a lot of options out there," she said.



Modesto Bee, CA

COUNTY FAIRS

No poultry show in Lode
REF: http://www.modbee.com/local/story/5974038p-6932620c.html

The Mother Lode Fair board in Sonora has canceled this year's poultry show to guard against transmission of exotic Newcastle disease. The fair board had planned to consider the matter at its Feb. 18 meeting, but it was taken up as an emergency item Tuesday. State agriculture officials have asked county fairs to suspend poultry shows because of the virus, which is harmless to people but could wipe out commercial flocks. Experts say the virus, detected in Southern California in October, might spread via feeders, boots or other routes. Fair boards in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties already have canceled their shows. The Merced County Fair board is expected to consider similar action Feb. 5.-- John Holland



Visalia Times-Delta, CA

Tulare County Fair cancels its poultry shows
Disease outbreak puts breaks on bird competition
By Rick Elkins
Staff writer

REF: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/news/stories/20030124/localnews/842589.html

Young people who raise chickens and other birds for judging at local fairs will have to wait at least another year to win that blue ribbon.

Based on a recommendation from the state Department of Food and Agricultural, poultry and other bird shows have been canceled this year in Tulare County because of the outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease in Southern California.

"I feel personally we're too close to the counties that are quarantined," said Candace Patterson, chief executive officer of the Tulare County Fair. "We need to assist them the best we can."

Patterson says she will recommend to the fair board next month to suspend any judging involving "feathers and beaks" until the disease is controlled.

The disease is highly contagious. More than 1.6 million chickens have been destroyed in six counties from San Diego to Ventura.

John Corkins, president of the Porterville fair board, said that that fair has already taken such action.

"We'll have no birds on the grounds" at Porterville's fair in May, he said.

That action comes at an inopportune time.

Corkins said poultry entries were rising and this year the fair is constructing a new barn to house rabbits and birds.

"It's a growing project for inner-city kids," he said. "It's just of one the of things that allows urban kids in the fair. We were looking forward to filling our new barn with rabbits and poultry."

Corkins said poultry was big at the Porterville Fair in the 1970s, but exotic Newcastle disease then wiped that out. He said poultry was just making a comeback when the latest outbreak occurred.

"We were just starting to bring it back," Corkins said. "So here we go again."

4-H Fair

There will also be no live poultry judging at the annual 4-H Fair at the fairgrounds in late April, said Carla Sousa, UC Extension 4-H Youth Development adviser.

"We don't want to put anybody at risk," she said.

Instead of live judging, Sousa said students with avian science projects will be allowed to enter educational displays detailing how their projects have gone and what they have learned.

Sousa said there are about 75 4-H members who raise birds for judging in Tulare County, with a large number of those in the Porterville area.

Similar action has been taken in Kern and Stanislaus counties and is expected in other counties as well.

The San Joaquin Valley produces about 95 percent of the chickens raised for meat in California and has about 40 percent of the laying hens. Poultry brings about $3 billion a year to the state's farmers.

A quarantine has been put in place in the counties where the disease has been reported and surrounding counties.

The disease does not pose a public health risk. Poultry and eggs are safe for consumption, state officials say.

Exotic Newcastle disease was first discovered in a backyard poultry operation in October and in commercial poultry in December.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Originally published Friday, January 24, 2003



Topeka Capital Journal, KS

Food producers to receive disaster, safety support

By Walter C. Jones
Morris News Service

REF: http://www.cjonline.com/stories/012403/bus_food.shtml

ATLANTA -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman brought some good news Thursday when she addressed food producers and farmers: aid is coming and calamities are being headed off. Veneman blessed a $3.1 billion disaster-aid package passed by the Senate on Wednesday as plenty and said no one region would get an unfair share. Agriculture officials worry that before the package passes the House and wins President Bush's signature, more money could be needed to cope with damage from the current cold wave sweeping the country.

Veneman also noted that a couple of problems are coming under control. One is the outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease that has forced the government to destroy tens of thousands of birds in California and Nevada. Nearly 1,000 Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service employees are inspecting poultry operations and backyard hen houses to squelch its spread, much as was done last year in Virginia during an outbreak of avian influenza.

"We believe we have got, or are getting, a handle on it," she said at the annual International Poultry Exposition.

Some countries have banned the importation of California poultry, but she said the administration has forestalled any widespread ban of American chicken. The U.S. exports 20 percent of its crop each year, so a universal ban would be devastating.

Mexico, America's third-largest export market, was on the verge of raising barriers to U.S. bird sales until an agreement was struck Wednesday. Veneman announced that the U.S. and Mexico had agreed to allow 50,000 metric tons of U.S. chicken-leg quarters to be imported duty-free with amounts greater than that subject to tariffs that will phase out over the next five years.

"This administration has successfully worked to ensure that U.S. poultry exports will continue to go to Mexico with preferential access, forestalling possible Mexican action that could have resulted in a significant trade blockage," she said.

Executives with both American and Mexican poultry trade associations said they had been working toward the agreement for three years and then persuaded their governments to go along. The Americans accepted the tariffs even though the North American Free Trade Agreement outlawed them after Jan. 1, because they feared the types of import restrictions Mexico has imposed against U.S. pork.

"Cesar (de Anda Molina, president of the Union Nacional de Avicultores in Mexico), in his very diplomatic way, let us know that we could be in the same situation as the pork industry," said James Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.

U.S. acceptance of the agreement also helped convince the Mexicans not to ban all chickens over the Newcastle outbreak, Sumner said.

Venemen also announced that Bush was requesting a record amount of spending for food safety in the 2004 budget to be released next week. The $42 million increase over the current year will go toward more inspectors, surveillance of food imports and public education campaigns. Bush also will propose a $47 million increase for research in the area of food safety.

The announcement came on the day Georgia Tech officials broke ground on a world-class food-processing laboratory in Atlanta.

Much of the discoveries done at Tech have improved inspections beyond what human eyes, noses and fingers can detect using the traditional quality-control methods, said Jerry Lane, president of Claxton Poultry Farms.

"They don't just benefit our companies but also our employees, the environment, everybody," he said.

The $9.4 million lab will consolidate research projects for the industry that are now scattered throughout the campus.

Walter Jones can be reached at wjones@morris.com or at (404) 589-8424.

Last Modified: 1:22 a.m. - 1/23/2003



The Desert Sun, CA

Officials halt visitors’ trips into aviaries of valley zoo
Bird owners impacted by quarantine

By Lou Hirsh
The Desert Sun
January 24th, 2003

REF: http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories/business/1043359507.shtml

-------------------
Advice for Bird owners
While Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) poses no threat to humans, it has implications for poultry hobbyists, as well as caged-bird sellers and buyers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service offers these tips:

Request certification from suppliers that birds are legally imported or are of U.S. stock, are healthy prior to shipment, and will be transported in new or disinfected containers.

Maintain records of all sales and shipments of flocks.

Isolate all newly purchased birds for at least 30 days, and restrict movement of personnel between new and old birds.

Because Amazon parrots are difficult to raise domestically, anyone offering to sell a large number of young parrots should be suspected of smuggling or purchasing smuggled birds.

For more information, check the inspection service Web site at www.aphis.usda.gov. Or call the California END hotline at 1-800-491-1899.
-------------------

Agriculture officials have enlisted the aid of poultry hobbyists, as well as sellers and owners of caged home pets like parrots, in ongoing efforts to contain Exotic Newcastle Disease.

A sign of the growing cautious nature of containing the disease in the Coachella Valley has finally arrived at one of its gem tourist attractions: The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert.

Early this month, keepers there quietly closed two aviary exhibits to walk-through traffic where exotic birds are caged.

One exhibit holds endangered eagles while the other has a variety of herons, egrets and vultures.

"People can still see the birds from the outside, but they cannot walk through the aviary until the quarantine has been lifted," said Kevin Leiske, the Living Desert’s head veterinarian.

The zoo has suspended its programs in which birds are taken to area schools, and the facility has also cut back on its performing bird shows. Animal handlers have added extra sanitizing procedures on top of measures that were already in place.

Since December, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have enforced a multi-county quarantine prohibiting mass movement of any captive birds, to prevent the spread of the highly virulent disease.

Newcastle has so far been identified only in chickens, and poses no threat to humans. But humans can become unwitting carriers through their shoes or clothing.

Last week, the Agriculture Department announced that no birds, bird products, or conveyance equipment could be moved from the quarantine area without a permit.

The quarantine zone, where federal risk assessments are required, covers the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura.

More than 700 cases of the disease have been identified in chickens in Riverside County, although none specifically in the Coachella Valley. But local pet stores and zoo facilities are among those taking precautions.

Pet store chain Petsmart Inc. has discontinued movement of birds between its stores within the quarantine zone. At the Palm Desert location, which sells parrots, finches and canaries, manager Roger Triffo said Petsmart has not seen an impact on overall sales since the Newcastle quarantine began.

"Most of our birds come from Florida," Triffo said, adding that the birds are routinely inoculated and checked for various diseases before shipping.

The USDA is most concerned about pet birds that may be smuggled by individuals or groups without buyers knowing it. According to the department’s Web site, birds like Amazon parrots from Latin America pose a great risk of introducing exotic Newcastle into U.S. poultry.

The agency said Amazon parrots could potentially be carriers of the disease for more than 400 days without showing symptoms themselves.

That issue is apparently not a problem for businesses like Exotic Birds Unlimited, a Palm Desert store that sells several breeds of parrots.

"Most of the birds we sell are raised right here in the Valley," said store owner Jeff Berger.

He added that his customers are primarily within the quarantine zone, and his store takes precautions to keep the birds healthy.

Agriculture authorities have not released monetary figures demonstrating the impact on California chicken farmers.

Since containment began, more than a million chickens have been destroyed in Southern California.

According to Bob Krauter, spokesman for the California Farm Bureau Federation, farmers across the state -- including those not even in the quarantine zone-- may have taken a hit from recent temporary bans on California poultry, initiated by Mexico and Canada.

Most of California’s poultry comes from the San Joaquin Valley, which is not in the quarantine. Poultry products cannot be moved from quarantined counties, but eggs can be moved after they are sanitized and packed in new materials.

Lou Hirsh can be reached at (760) 778-4691.



Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS

January 24, 2003

U.S. reducing poultry sales to help Mexican producers

REF: http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0301/24/b06.html

By Greg Wright
Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON — The United States will sell fewer chickens south of the border for the next six months to help Mexican farmers survive competition from Perdue, Tyson and other big U.S. poultry producers, Bush administration officials said Thursday.

American chicken producers said they support the temporary deal, considering Mexico's government had threatened to take drastic action to stop U.S. poultry imports.

"Hopefully, it's a deal everyone can live with and can help us establish a stable and long-term trading arrangement with Mexico," said Richard Lobb, spokesman for the National Chicken Council. The council represents large chicken producers including Perdue Farms.

Under the deal, the United States can export up to 55,115 tons of chicken leg quarters during the next six months. Mexico can charge a 99 percent tax on any imports above the quota.

The United States will continue to negotiate with Mexico on a long-term solution. "Because of factors unique to the poultry industry, we preferred in this case to work on positive and practical solutions to keep poultry exports flowing," U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Zoellick said.

Mexico's appetite for U.S. poultry, especially chicken leg quarters, has grown in the past decade. The United States shipped more than 308,000 tons of chicken meat to Mexico in 2001, almost three times what was sent a decade ago.

U.S. chicken sales in Mexico could have risen even more this year because Mexico agreed to abolish a 49 percent import tax on U.S. poultry beginning Jan. 1. But Mexico's chicken industry, struggling to compete with larger, more efficient U.S. producers, urged the Mexican Economy Ministry to take drastic steps to protect them.

The North American Free Trade Agreement would have allowed Mexico to slap a 240 percent tax on U.S. chicken imports, which would have priced them out of the market.

Perdue, Tyson Foods and other U.S. companies should remain competitive in the Mexican market even under the terms of the temporary agreement, Lobb said. The deal also does not affect sales of other U.S. poultry products sold in Mexico, including whole chickens and turkeys.

However, Mexico will continue to ban chicken imports from California and Nevada after an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle viral disease in those states, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said.

The viral disease does not affect humans but is almost 100 percent fatal in chickens. California slaughtered more than 1.7 million chickens to stop the disease from spreading.



Press-Enterprise, CA

Bird disease issue draws crowd to talk
01/24/2003

By PAIGE AUSTIN
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

REF: http://www.pe.com/localnews/corona/stories/PE_NEWS_ncbird24.58351.html

NORCO - More than 100 residents from around the county met Thursday night with state and city officials to find out what the outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease means to their pets and backyard flocks.

For weeks, frustration and fear has built among residents whose homes have been quarantined because of the deadly bird disease.

"These aren't just animals you buy for a dollar, they are pets, these are people's sanctuaries, they are little pieces of life for people to hang onto," said Greg Daniel, owner of a 20-year-old cockatiel named Buddy. "People want to know what's going to happen to their pets."

Statewide, officials have killed nearly 1.75 million birds, including more than 75,000 backyard chickens, ducks, geese, and indoor pets. In the Inland area more then 750 flocks have been infected with the disease, officials said.

Many residents at the meeting said they had heard that all chickens in Norco and even the state would be euthanized.

However, state officials assured them that only infected birds, or those with a high risk of exposure, would be killed. The containment and quarantine is expected to last six months to a year.

Euthanized birds are being killed by carbon dioxide, and in a few cases, with BB guns. Residents have the right to appeal any quarantine within 24 hours.

Since December, there have been a number of confirmed cases of exotic Newcastle disease in Norco. Because the disease is highly contagious among birds and can wipe out entire flocks, workers with the California Conservation Corps must kill birds with a high risk of exposure in order to contain the disease.

Norco resident Randy Walker remembers the last such disease outbreak in California in 1971. He grew up on a parakeet farm and watched 50,000 parakeets be killed. Now his 200 birds are slated to be killed.

"This is traumatizing," said Walker. "My 11-year-old daughter helped raise these birds. They don't show any sign of sickness. I don't understand why she should have to watch her birds killed unless it's certain that they're infected."

Reach Paige Austin at (909) 893-2106 or paustin@pe.com



Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA, San Bernardino Sun, CA

Residents criticize disease task force
Owners say state officials are killing healthy birds

By NAOMI KRESGE
STAFF WRITER

REF: http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~1132638,00.html
REF: http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~1132641,00.html

NORCO — Bird owners criticized state officials for their handling of the exotic Newcastle disease crisis during an emotional town meeting Thursday night.

The crowd of more than 150 heard state officials defend themselves against allegations that they are killing healthy birds against the wishes of their owners in their effort to stop the disease that killed nearly 12 million California chickens when it last broke out here in the early 1970s.

"We know this has been a very trying day in the history of Norco," state spokesman Larry Hawkins said to open the meeting.

City officials and Norco homeowner Randy Walker had already faced off that morning against state officials, who came to his residence in the 2000 block of White Horse Lane to confiscate his 200 birds.

Thursday's meeting had been scheduled for some time, but after the morning incident with state officials, City Manager Ed Hatzenbuhler contacted the governor's office and that of U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside, to complain.

The state pays owners market value on a case-by-case basis for the fowl they confiscate and destroy, said a task force representative.

"But that's not the issue," Hatzenbuhler said. "The issue is not the money; the issue is the personal property rights and decency and respect for an individual American's right to have their home and possessions secure from people who just simply want to come in and override their wishes."

A state veterinarian arrived at the home with a team of specialists and six trucks to destroy the birds, according to Walker. Government authorities had placed the home under quarantine last Friday.

"They didn't give me the opportunity to even have a blood test," Walker said. "I would be the first one to cooperate and have the birds euthanized because they were suffering."

His family was not initially told they had the right to appeal, he told the audience at Thursday night's meeting. He said that his family has kept birds for years, including ducks, geese, peacocks, emus and chickens that Walker's 11-year-old daughter raised by hand.

"He told me "you can stand out of my way, and if you don't stand out of my way, I'm going to bring the sheriff in and have you arrested,"' Walker said of the state official who came to his home.

Bird owners whose animals are put under quarantine are allowed to appeal the quarantine at the state level, Incident Commander Annette Whiteford confirmed at the meeting.

She said the official who came to Walker's residence on Thursday morning had been pulled off the Newcastle disease project.

The family has filed an appeal and is awaiting the outcome.

Other local speakers at the meeting questioned whether any pet bird in the city is safe from being euthanized.

"I feel it's only a matter of time before the entire city of Norco is quarantined, to be quite honest," said Pat Gessler, who appealed the quarantine of her property early this week.

City officials had earlier said they were frustrated at the lack of communication on the state level.

"All I was asking the state to do was wait until we have the meeting tonight, so we could inform the people of their rights," Mayor Harvey Sullivan said. "The state should have informed our animal control and our city manager when and where they were going to be, so we would have knowledge of it in case we get calls like this."

More than 75,000 backyard birds on at least 1,000 properties have been destroyed since the disease first emerged in Southern California last fall, according to state records.

State and federal officials have joined forces to form the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force, which numbers nearly 1,000 people and includes representatives from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the United States Department of Agriculture and the California Conservation Corps, among others.

Naomi Kresge can be reached by e-mail naomi.kresge@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8553.



AgricultureLaw.com

Poultry Export to Continue to Mexico
January 24, 2003

REF: http://www.agriculturelaw.com/headlines/jan03/jan24a.htm

U.S. officials have succeeded in getting poultry exports to continue to Mexico with preferential access. This forestalls possible Mexican action that could have resulted in significant trade disruption, officials said.

On Jan. 1, under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexican tariffs on U.S. poultry exports declined to zero. However, under NAFTA, Mexico could have taken action to impose a "safeguard" or emergency import tariff of up to 240% on U.S. poultry exports, which is the tariff that countries without a preferential arrangement with Mexico pay.

Instead, Mexico will allow 50,000 metric tons of U.S. chicken leg quarters into Mexico duty-free over the next six months and will impose a temporary, or provisional, safeguard tariff of 98.8 percent on imports of chicken leg quarters above that level. All other U.S. poultry exports will continue to enter Mexico duty free.

"By working with Mexico, in consultation with the U.S. poultry industry, we've been able to ensure that U.S. poultry will continue to flow to Mexico at levels comparable to the last few years, while we continue to work on larger issues related to NAFTA's implementation," said U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick.

"Under NAFTA, Mexico could have imposed a safeguard tariff to protect its industry that could have seriously disrupted our poultry trade. Because of factors unique to the poultry industry, we preferred, in this case, to work on positive and practical solutions to keep poultry exports flowing. I'm pleased that the U.S. poultry industry supports our efforts and that Mexican consumers will have continued access to high-quality U.S. poultry," he added.

The provisional measure will take the form of a tariff-rate quota (TRQ). The first 50,000 metric tons of chicken leg quarters exported in the next six months - approximately the same rate at which the United States exported chicken leg quarters to Mexico in 2001 - will enter Mexico duty free.

Additional U.S. exports of chicken leg quarters in this six month period will be subject to a 98.8% tariff, which was the 2001 tariff level. Mexico's most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff rate for U.S. chicken leg quarters is 240%. Citing "critical circumstances," Mexico has decided to impose the provisional measure for six months, effective immediately, while its full safeguard investigation continues. The United States will continue to work with Mexico on a longer term measure, which under NAFTA rules would require Mexico to provide offsetting trade compensation.

Officials added that unrelated to the safeguard action taken by the Mexican Ministry of Economy, the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture (SAGARPA) maintains certain restrictions on imports of U.S. poultry due to animal health requirements. On Jan. 21, SAGARPA announced that poultry from California and Nevada was banned due to an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease.



Union Democrat, CA

Virus halts poultry shows

Published: January 23, 2003

REF: http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=9751

By LENORE

RUTHERFORD

Poultry and exotic birds have been banned from fairgrounds in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties for the rest of 2003 in an effort to stop the spread of Exotic Newcastle Disease.

That means chickens, turkeys and other birds can't be shown or sold at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee in May or Tuolumne County's Mother Lode Fair in July.

Gov. Gray Davis has declared a state of emergency in the fight against Exotic Newcastle Disease in California.

The Division of Fairs and Expositions, which oversees county fairs, has recommended all fairs suspend poultry shows and bird exhibits for the 2003 fair season.

Birds will also be banned from the Gold Country Avicultural Society's Exotic Pet Expo at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in September unless the ban is lifted by then.

About 30 4-H members take part in the Tuolumne County poultry project, which usually culminates in the small livestock auction at the fair, project leader Roger Tidball said.

"It will hurt them not to be able to show their birds at the fair," he said, "but they understand this disease is something that needs to be stopped. It's a learning experience for them."

High School students who belong to Future Farmers of America also show birds at the fair. However, most of them have other animal projects as well, Tidball said, so they aren't as seriously affected.

Sue Moore, 4-H project coordinator for Tuolumne County, said it's fortunate the decision came before 4-H and FFA members bought turkey poults (baby turkeys) to raise for the fair.

They raise turkeys for six months to sell at the auction, she said.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is a contagious, fatal virus affecting all species of birds. But it does not affect people, even if they eat infected birds or eggs.

New cases continue to be found in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is one of the world's most infectious poultry diseases — so virulent that many birds die before they even show symptoms.



Forbes

Veneman sees no major blanket ban on U.S. poultry
Reuters, 01.23.03, 6:26 PM ET

REF: http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2003/01/23/rtr857473.html

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Thursday she had no indications that major U.S. poultry trading partners were considering banning shipments of all American poultry in light of the outbreak of Exotic Newcastle disease among flocks in California and Nevada.

"Countries have recognized the fact that we have regionalized the disease and they have not prohibited the export of poultry from other parts of the country," Veneman told reporters at the International Poultry Exposition in Atlanta.

"As would be expected, countries have prohibited exported products from the areas that have been quarantined," she added.

U.S. farm groups have expressed increasing concern that if the virus, which is contagious and fatal for fowl but harmless to humans, is not eradicated soon, major buyers of U.S. poultry and products could implement blanket bans on American poultry. The only way to wipe out the disease is to destroy infected flocks and impose a strict quarantine.

So far, some countries such as Argentina, Jordan and Uruguay have banned all U.S. poultry, but they are not big importers of American chicken. The largest U.S. buyers, such as Canada and Mexico, have halted shipments only of poultry from California and Nevada.

Veneman said about 1,000 health officials were working in Southern California and Nevada to identify fowl that may carry the virus, which was discovered in October in California and has spread to some commercial farms.

"We do believe we have a handle on it," she added.

Veneman said the outbreak pointed to a need to educate growers of backyard flocks about the possibility of disease and to crack down on illegal movement of fighting cocks. Backyard flocks and fighting birds have been found to be major sources of the virus in the current outbreak.

Veneman also said farms should have strong security measures for their facilities and workers. "People and equipment present the greatest risk to biosecurity," she said.

Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service



KERO, CA

Poultry Shows Scrapped At Kern, Stanislaus County Fairs
Several Fairs Canceling Shows For Fear Of Exotic Newcastle Disease

POSTED: 10:56 a.m. PST January 23, 2003
UPDATED: 11:16 a.m. PST January 23, 2003

REF: http://www.thebakersfieldchannel.com/news/1931723/detail.html

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The fair boards of Kern and Stanislaus counties have postponed poultry shows this year after an outbreak of a deadly poultry disease in Southern California.

"Let it not be said that the Stanislaus County Fair board brought (exotic) Newcastle disease to Northern California," board President Tom Hallinan said Wednesday.

Last week, the state Department of Food and Agriculture sent a memo to fair boards recommending suspension of poultry shows after the exotic Newcastle disease was discovered in several Southern California counties.

Fair organizers in Stanislaus County say they will help find alternative activities, including educational displays on Newcastle disease, for 4-H and FFA members.

The San Joaquin County Fair board last week suspended its show and planned to fill the Poultry Pavilion with educational videos and speakers to expose visitors to the science of poultry.

The San Joaquin Valley produces about 95 percent of the chickens raised for meat in California and has about 40 percent of the laying hens. Poultry brings about $3 billion a year to the state's farmers.

Copyright 2003 by TheBakersfieldChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



San Jose Mercury News, CA

Posted on Thu, Jan. 23, 2003

The fair boards of Kern and Stanislaus counties have postponed poultry...
Associated Press

REF: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5014715.htm

TURLOCK, Calif. - The fair boards of Kern and Stanislaus counties have postponed poultry shows this year after an outbreak of a deadly poultry disease in Southern California.

"Let it not be said that the Stanislaus County Fair board brought Newcastle disease to Northern California," board President Tom Hallinan said Wednesday.

Last week, the state Department of Food and Agriculture sent a memo to fair boards recommending suspension of poultry shows after the exotic Newcastle disease was discovered in several Southern California counties.

Fair organizers in Stanislaus County say they will help find alternative activities, including educational displays on Newcastle disease, for 4-H and FFA members.

The San Joaquin County Fair board last week suspended its show and planned to fill the Poultry Pavilion with educational videos and speakers to expose visitors to the science of poultry.

The San Joaquin Valley produces about 95 percent of the chickens raised for meat in California and has about 40 percent of the laying hens. Poultry brings about $3 billion a year to the state's farmers.



Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, AZ

Poultry disease hits California, threatens Arizona

By: Staff Reports, Tri-Valley Dispatch January 23, 2003

REF: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6793679&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222087&rfi=6

I had never heard of Exotic Newcastle Disease before today, END for short, but I guess it is once again devastating California's poultry industry. Let me digress ...

Exotic Newcastle Disease is a contagious and fatal viral disease affecting all species of birds. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, END is "one of the most infectious diseases of poultry in the world; it is so virulent that many birds die without showing any clinical signs, and a death rate of nearly 100 percent can occur."

There was an outbreak of the disease in California in 1971 that cost taxpayers $56 million to eradicate and caused extensive financial losses to people in the chicken and egg industries.

Well, it's back. According to information from the Arizona State Veterinarian's Office, END is present in both back yard and commercial poultry flocks in California. It is suspected that it was brought into the United States through the illegal importation of fighting game birds. It now has spread to several commercial flocks with millions, that's MILLIONS, of chickens.

USDA has gotten involved and is asking for more $120 million to get the disease eradicated. Besides the cost to taxpayers, it again is costing the poultry industry in California untold amounts because of the inability to continue product sales to other countries.

Portions of California are under a poultry quarantine to help control the outbreak. But a big problem lies in the illegal importation of fighting birds across the California/Arizona state line. Since birds of this nature usually are hidden from inspectors, the fowl may be infected with END, but their detection is improbable.

I learned something else today. There is a law in Arizona that says it is "unlawful for a person to knowingly introduce into this state a disease or parasite of animals or poultry that constitutes a threat to: 1. Livestock or poultry industry in the state. 2. Human health. 3. Human life." In order of threat, the person found guilty of importation of diseases or parasites of this nature into Arizona is guilty of either a class 5, a class 4 or a class 2 felony.

So if END is found here and is traced back to someone who has imported a game bird from California, he or she could end up doing some serious prison time. One more reason to stay away from game birds! Particularly now. It might even be considered a terrorist act.

There are vaccines available for this disease, so if you have chickens, check with your veterinarian and see what he or she recommends for the safety of your fowl. If you or a neighbor experience a sudden casualty rate in your chickens, please contact your vet immediately so END can be ruled out as the reason.

On a lighter note, we are still packed to the gills with great adoptable animals. So come check out the shelter if you are looking for a new furred family member.

This column is prepared by the Pinal County Animal Care and Control Department.

©Casa Grande Valley Newspaper 2003



San Jose Mercury News, CA

Posted on Thu, Jan. 23, 2003

REF: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5014263.htm

Turlock (AP)- -- The fair boards of Kern and Stanislaus counties have voted to postpone poultry shows this year after an outbreak of a deadly poultry disease in Southern California. Eight counties in Southern California are under federal quarantine after an outbreak of the exotic Newcastle disease last year.



Modesto Bee, CA

January 23, 2003 Posted: 05:10:11 AM PST
Poultry show is off at fair

REF: http://www.modbee.com/local/story/5964468p-6923662c.html

By JOHN HOLLAND
BEE STAFF WRITER

TURLOCK -- The Stanislaus County Fair board decided Wednesday night to cancel this year's poultry show because of a disease scare.

The board voted 8-0, with Director Bill Mattos absent, to take the action as part of the state's effort to contain the exotic Newcastle disease. The

virus-caused ailment, detected in Southern California in October, could devastate the San Joaquin Valley poultry industry.

"Let it not be said that the Stanislaus County Fair board brought Newcastle disease to Northern California," board President Tom Hallinan said.

Directors discussed the matter only briefly before taking the action, which state agriculture officials have urged for all poultry shows in California.

The fair board agreed to help find alternative activities for 4-H and FFA members who had planned to enter poultry at the fair, set for July 25 to Aug. 3.

Poultry experts say the virus, which is harmless to humans, could spread among birds via manure, carcasses, egg trays, feeders, tractors, boots and other routes.

The state Department of Food and Agriculture has warned that any poultry shows that go on could be shut down suddenly if the disease shows up.

The San Joaquin Fair decided last week to cancel the fair's poultry show. The Mother Lode and Merced County Fair boards are due to take up the matter next month.

At the Stanislaus County Fair last summer, poultry accounted for 370 of the 22,000-plus entries in the myriad competitions. The vote to cancel this year's show came early enough to allow would-be poultry entrants to switch to other animals or activities, Hallinan said.

A 4-H adviser said last week that the group already is planning birdless alternatives. Among them are educational displays on poultry topics, including Newcastle disease.

"It allows the kids to participate and still be at the fair," said Tony Leo, the fair's chief executive officer.

Eight counties are under a federal quarantine in Southern California, where Newcastle disease was found in backyard flocks. The quarantine puts tight restrictions on transportation of chickens, turkeys and other susceptible birds.

The San Joaquin Valley produces about 95 percent of the chickens raised for meat in California and has about 40 percent of the laying hens. Poultry brings about $3 billion a year to the state's farmers.

Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at 667-1227 or jholland@modbee.com.



Salem Farm and Dairy, OH

Exotic Newcastle disease spreads; farmers urged to take precautions

01/23/2003

REF: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6775528&BRD=1996&PAG=461&dept_id=459492&rfi=6

Following reports that a highly contagious viral disease in birds has spread from California to Nevada, poultry farmers and bird owners are urged to implement precautions to minimize the disease's spread.

SALEM, Ohio - Following reports that a highly contagious viral disease in birds has spread from California to Nevada, poultry farmers and bird owners are urged to implement precautions to minimize the disease's spread.

Exotic Newcastle disease, which is deadly to birds and poultry, was most recently found in a flock of 30 chickens near Las Vegas.

California. Since October, the outbreak had been confined to southern California.

The federal quarantine in California has been expanded to eight counties.

Nearly 1,250 noncommercial flocks and five commercial poultry operations in the area have been infected or exposed to the disease, according to James Lenarduzzi of the Texas Animal Health Commission.

As of mid-January, he said more than 150,000 birds had been euthanized and another 1.5 million birds are slated for depopulation.

Fatality. The disease can be fatal to all species of birds but is particularly devastating to poultry, infecting an entire flock in three to four days, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Although people may become infected with the virus, it is typically limited to conjunctivitis, better known as pinkeye, and is gone within a week.

What if? If a poultry flock in Ohio were to become infected, it would be quarantined immediately by animal health authorities and would likely be destroyed to contain the disease, the department said.

Infected birds may sneeze, gasp for air or cough, and develop muscular tremors or paralysis.

While some birds may have greenish, watery diarrhea, other infected birds may show no signs prior to death.

Advice, tips. Ohio Department of Agriculture offers the following advice:

* Avoid traveling in quarantined areas. People can carry the virus from an infected flock to a healthy one on vehicles, shoes, clothing, sacks, egg trays and crates.

* Keep unauthorized visitors out of poultry houses. Make sure authorized people wear protective clothing and shoes before entering.

* If someone such as an inspector or feed truck must enter, keep a record of who they are, their telephone numbers, where they last visited and where they're going next.

* Avoid contact with wild waterfowl. They may be carriers of Exotic Newcastle.

* Do not borrow or loan farm vehicles or equipment without cleaning and disinfecting before and after use.

* Because they present an increased risk of disease exposure, avoid contact with backyard flocks of chickens, ducks, geese and other birds.

Ohio threat. Anyone suspecting the disease in Ohio is required by law to report it to animal health authorities. The 24-hour reporting number is 800-300-9755.

To submit samples for testing, contact Animal Disease Diagnostics Laboratory at 614-728-6220.

©Farm and Dairy 2003



Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS

January 23, 2003
Poultry industry on alert for END

REF: http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0301/23/b03.html

Study to help fight outbreak; birds targeted by virus
alindsay@clarionledger.com

Mississippi's poultry industry remains watchful for signs of Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has forced the quarantine of Southern California poultry.

Poultry is Mississippi's largest crop, with a projected value in 2002 of $1.4 billion. There is constant testing to ensure no diseases or pathogens have an adverse impact on the industry, experts said.

State Veterinarian Dr. Jim Watson said officials are studying an awareness campaign to let poultry industry workers, growers and bird lovers in general, know how to prevent the spread of END.

"We're evaluating ways that we can get messages out to those people. . . developing material in Spanish and other languages to make people aware of the risks," Watson said

"It could theoretically happen," he said. "The virus could be transmitted by people. These viruses can live short times outside of the bird. . . anything that goes from an infected premise does pose a threat."

The fact that illegal aliens, and sometimes illegal birds, move through Mississippi, it is possible the disease could be contracted here, Watson said. The disease could even be spread by someone attending a bird show, where an exotic bird may have the disease without their owners knowing it.

The highly contagious virus affects all species of birds.

The disease, harmless to people but fatal to birds, has forced the slaughter of more than 1.7 million chickens as a precaution in Southern California since the virus was first found there in September.

Last week, it was found in a neighborhood near Las Vegas. Nevada authorities said Tuesday that one turkey and 132 chickens, geese and ducks have been destroyed by authorities trying to contain the outbreak.

Dr. Danny Magee, director of the Mississippi State University Poultry Diagnostic Lab in Pearl, said constant testing of flocks from around the state makes it less likely for an outbreak to occur here.

Nonetheless, "it's probably one of those things where there's always a threat," Magee said.

"Our potential threat is probably no greater today than when California's problem evolved," he said. "There's always a threat because there's movement of people and movement of birds. I think it's caused us to be a little bit more aware than we were six months ago."

Birds being exported from Mississippi come under tough requirements which include testing, Magee said. In addition, poultry growers and companies monitor the health of their birds, he said.

Louisiana officials have also asked that poultry producers be on the lookout for END. Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom said Tuesday that he sent a letter and fact sheet about the disease to every poultry producer and veterinarian in Louisiana.

Poultry is also Louisiana's largest livestock industry.

END affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems in birds. Clinical signs include sneezing, coughing, gasping for air, watery diarrhea, drooping wings, complete paralysis, drop in egg production and increased death loss in a flock.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Bakersfield Californian, CA

No fowl play at 2003 fair

By MARYLEE SHRIDER , Californian staff writer
e-mail: mshrider@bakersfield.com

REF: http://www.bakersfield.com/local/story/2502741p-2557228c.html

Wednesday January 22, 2003, 10:49:13 PM

Chickens, turkeys and other poultry will be notable no-shows this fall at the Kern County Fair, where officials hope to keep a deadly avian virus at bay.

The unanimous decision to exclude poultry from this year's ag program was made by Kern County Fair Board directors Tuesday afternoon. The directors made their decision in light of the Exotic Newcastle Disease epidemic in Southern California.

"I know it's disappointing to many people," said Linda Quinones-Vaughn, board president. "But we need to be conscientious of our economic well-being in Kern County."

The California Department of Food and Agriculture is asking counties not to include poultry shows in their fairs this year. The board took the state's recommendation a step further by banning all birds, including those in petting zoos, from the fairgrounds for the entire year.

This is only the second time poultry have been dropped from the ag program in the Kern County Fair's 77-year history. The first time occurred when the Newcastle virus struck California flocks in the early 1970s. About 12 million chickens had to be destroyed at a cost of $56 million.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is a flu-like virus that is highly contagious among birds. Although it poses no threat to humans, people can carry it on themselves and their clothing and unknowingly pass it from one bird to another.

The poultry ban means 4-H students like Alice Grainger and twin sister Amber of Shafter, will not show their chickens this year. The sisters, both seniors at Shafter High School, have raised and shown prize chickens for 10 years. Alice said they're disappointed, but understand the reason behind the ban.

"It's kind of a mixed feeling," she said. "You don't want to spread the disease around, but you want to show your chickens. Especially since this is our last year in 4-H."

Susan Stone, livestock exhibit supervisor, said the fair plans to provide some alternate bird-free programs for those students who had expected to show their chickens, turkeys, ducks, quail, pheasants or pigeons. The ban, she said, was declared early enough for students to choose other animals.

"Kids are purchasing their animals right now, so this is timely," she said.

On Jan. 8 Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency in the fight against Exotic Newcastle Disease in California. Board members said Kern's proximity to the quarantined counties -- including Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino -- warrants the ban.



Lafayette Advertiser, LA

Warning issued to state’s poultry industry
Fatal disease has spread from California to Nevada
John Sullivan
January 23, 2003

REF: http://vh80299.vh8.infi.net/business/html/859E6926-7A54-4764-A5F4-A67EA12E22E9.shtml

LAFAYETTE — A warning was issued Wednesday to farmers and veterinarians across Louisiana about a disease ravaging the poultry industry in California and Nevada.

In a telephone interview, Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Bob Odom said no cases of Exotic Newcastle Disease have been found in Louisiana.

The warning is an attempt to help protect the state’s $967 million poultry industry, he said. A similar warning was issued Tuesday by Texas officials in an attempt to protect that state’s $4 billion poultry industry.

The disease has forced the slaughter of more than 1.7 million chickens as a precaution in southern California since the virus was first found there in early September. More than 150 birds have been destroyed in Las Vegas this week after an infected chicken was found at a ranch.

“A case diagnosed in Las Vegas has confirmed the disease has spread

to Nevada,” Odom said. “Exotic Newcastle Disease is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease that affects all species of birds.”

Poultry is Louisiana’s largest livestock industry. The gross farm income of Louisiana poultry producers was $493 million in 2001. With the added value of $474 million in poultry processing, the industry accounted for $967 million in the state’s economy. Figures for 2002 have not been released.

The disease is harmless to humans, but infected birds have to be destroyed and the bodies burned or buried.

Odom said most poultry producers are on the small scale in south Louisiana, with less than several hundred chickens. The larger operations are found in central and north Louisiana.

State veterinarian Dr. Max Lea said Wednesday the disease is easily spread.

“It is often introduced and spread by vaccination and debeaking crews, poultry farm owners and farm employees,” Lea said. “The virus can survive for several weeks in a warm and humid environment on birds’ feathers, manure and other material.”

Lea said humans and other mammals such as horses and goats are immune to the virus, with humans only acting as carriers.

Odom said his department is working with the U.S. Postal Service to make sure birds from the quarantine areas in California and Nevada are not shipped into Louisiana. He explained that some breeders mail or ship breeder birds to other poultry farmers and that an infected bird that was not showing any signs of the disease could be shipped.

The commissioner said the Postal Service and other carriers such as United Parcel Service will not accept live shipments of poultry from the quarantine areas.

Symptoms:

Exotic Newcastle Disease is 100 percent fatal and affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems in poultry. The clinical signs include:

Sneezing, coughing and gasping for air

Watery diarrhea

Drooping wings

Drop in egg productionIn the final stages, complete paralysis followed by death

The incubation time from infection to the onset of symptoms from 2 days to 15 days; however healthy fowl may be infected and die quickly without showing any of the clinical signs of infection.

The birds affected:

Chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, grouse, partridges, pheasants, quail, guinea fowl, peacocks, doves, pigeons, swans, emus, ostriches and rheas. It is more common in domestic fowl rather than wildlife.

©The Lafayette Daily Advertiser
January 23, 2003



Grand Island Independent, NE

Published Thursday, January 23, 2003
Alert issued for potential disease affecting birds
Virus not a threat to humans, but kills poultry; California, Nevada counties quarantined

By Robert Pore

REF: http://www.theindependent.com/stories/012303/new_birds23.shtml

rpore@theindependent.com

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture is alerting state residents of a potentially deadly poultry disease that was first spotted in California and has spread to Nevada.

Dr. Del Wilmont, deputy state veterinarian, said Exotic Newcastle disease is not normally found in the United States. The disease was first diagnosed in game birds in the Los Angeles area last October. It has now spread to many different species of birds and commercial poultry flocks and has been found in four California counties and one county in Nevada. Those areas have been quarantined and no poultry is allowed in and out of those counties.

As a result of the outbreak, authorities in California have depopulated 700,000 birds in an effort to eradicate the disease.

Wilmont said Nebraska authorities put out the alert about Exotic Newcastle disease last week because the extent of the disease is still unfolding.

"We want to prevent the spread of the disease into Nebraska because it not only would have a devastating effect on poultry flocks, but it would affect economic trade by preventing exports of poultry into other countries," he said.

According to the Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Service, current information has the state with an estimated 11.5 million chickens for egg production. Based on 2001 estimates, Nebraska had 3.4 million broilers. The Nebraska Turkey Growers Cooperative in Gibbon annually processes about 4 million turkeys, which are raised by its growers members in Nebraska and Kansas.

Exotic Newcastle disease is a virus that often causes clinical signs in birds ranging from gasrointestinal signs, such as diarrhea, to neurological signs, such as twisted necks and poor coordination, and respiratory distress.

The disease doesn't affect humans, but they can be carriers of it.

Wilmont said Exotic Newcastle disease is different from the West Nile virus, which spread to Nebraska last year.

"They are totally different diseases," he said.

Wilmont said West Nile is spread by mosquitoes, while Exotic Newcastle disease is spread by direct contact among infected birds.

"Usually it is spread from bird to bird or someone being in contact with manure or nasal discharge from a bird with the disease," he said.

The disease is not confined to poultry, but can infect a lot of different species of birds, Wilmont said. With West Nile virus, the disease spread across the country after migratory birds were infected with the virus by mosquitoes. But Wilmont said historically wild birds have not played a role in the spread of Exotic Newcastle disease.

"A bird could theoretically spread it, but what we are seeing is that it is spread from bird-to-bird contact," he said. "It started in backyard flocks and has spread from there. It can also be spread by people who have been around birds with disease. But wild birds don't seem to play a big role in Exotic Newcastle."

Wilmont said there have been outbreaks of Exotic Newcastle before in the United States and wild birds didn't have an important role in the spread of the disease. To his knowledge, there has never been an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle disease in Nebraska.

Wilmont speculated that if Exotic Newcastle disease were introduced in Nebraska, it would be by someone who came into the state from an area where there was an outbreak.

He said that movement of any type of birds out of the quarantined areas in California and Nevada would be illegal and would pose a threat of spreading the disease elsewhere.

Wilmont said along with the commercial poultry industry in Nebraska, there are a lot of backyard flocks in the state and people raise poultry for exhibition and showing purposes as a hobby.

He said Nebraskans are being asked to keep an eye out for any unusual clinical signs or unexplained mortality and should contact the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, 800-831-0550, to report any such incidents. Also, any unusual incidents may be reported to Dr. Grasso Ebako of the University of Nebraska Diagnostic Center at (402) 472-1434.



Bird owners urged to be on lookout for deadly disease

The Associated Press

Web Posted : 01/21/2003 10:50 PM
REF: http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=apwire&xlc=927648

Bird and poultry owners are being urged to be on the lookout for a disease that has forced the slaughter of almost 2 million birds in California and Nevada.

The Texas Animal Health Commission said the Exotic Newcastle Disease cannot be transmitted to humans, but is deadly for most species of birds.

The virus could have devastating effects on the Texas poultry industry, which employs 14,000 people and has an economic impact of almost $4 billion a year, said James Lenarduzzi, acting executive director of the commission.

In the Rio Grande Valley, the virus' threat would lie in its potential to infect chickens that people raise in their backyards.

"In the Rio Grande Valley, you would run into a tremendous problem of what we call `backyard poultry,' and it just goes from one backyard to another backyard," Lenarduzzi said in a story in Wednesday's editions of The (McAllen) Monitor. "That's what happened in Southern California."

The disease has forced the slaughter of more than 1.7 million chickens as a precaution in Southern California since the virus was first found there in September.

Last week, it was found in a neighborhood near Las Vegas. Nevada authorities said Tuesday that one turkey and 132 chickens, geese and ducks have been destroyed by authorities trying to contain the outbreak.

Health experts said domestic birds are more likely than migratory or wild birds to become infected. There is no guarantee the virus will arrive in Texas, but Lenarduzzi said he is concerned someone will accept infected exotic birds or infected chickens and drive them unknowingly into Texas.

The virus has been found in Mexico, including a large outbreak in Durango about two years ago, Lenarduzzi said.

Infected birds spread the virus through their droppings or through secretions in their nose, mouth or eyes. In mild temperatures, the virus can survive for several weeks on shoes, clothing, farm equipment, trucks, manure or feathers, according to the TAHC.

The disease affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems in birds. Clinical signs include sneezing, coughing, gasping for air, watery diarrhea, drooping wings, complete paralysis, drop in egg production and increased death loss in a flock.



Bird Owners Urged To Watch For Exotic Newcastle Disease
Jenny Fisher, Newscenter 25
Staff Reporter

REF: http://www.msnbc.com/local/kxts/42118.asp?cp1=1

The Texas Animal Health Commission is urging bird and poultry owners to be on the lookout for a deadly disease, one that has caused several birds to die.The Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) has been confirmed in birds in California and Nevada.

..and animal health officials are worried the disease could cause major problems in Texas. Texas' poultry industry makes four billion dollars a year and could be harmed by the disease if it hits poultry farms.

Health officials say the disease cannot be transmitted to humans, but is deadly to most bird species.

Domestic birds are more likely than wild birds to contract the disease.

Dr. Randy Froehlich, DVM said, "Exotic Newcastle Disease is expecially deadly to chickens. Chickens are probably the most succeptable although other species of birds will get END as well, but chickens....90-100 percent that get END will die, and they'll die very suddenly."

There is a test for the disease, but Froehlich said many times birds die before they can be tested.

Experts say the best thing you can do is to quarantine any birds you suspect of having END.

Officials say you should report any unusual deaths in your flocks by either calling your vet or calling the Texas Animal Health Commission at 1-800-550-8242.



Albuquerque Tribune, NM

Farmers aware of new potential threats to stocks
By RICHARD T. ESTRADA
Modesto Bee
January 22, 2003

REF: http://www.abqtrib.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=ANIMALHEALTH-01-22-03&cat=FF

MODESTO, Calif. - Henry te Velde hasn't strung barbed wire or hired guards to protect his two Merced County dairies, but he would if that was a guarantee his herds would be safe from bovine tuberculosis.

"It's a disease that can destroy your dairy," said the Delhi farmer, who milks 2,500 cows. "We're taking every step we can to protect our cows from the disease."

One of te Velde's most effective measures is raising replacement heifers, young females that will replace older cows that are routinely culled from the dairy.

"A dairy raising its replacements has fewer biosecurity issues because it's not bringing in strange cattle," te Velde said. "That could have been what happened down in Tulare County."

Tulare was the site of California's first case of bovine TB in more than a decade, a discovery in June that led to the slaughter of 6,400 cows. A second Tulare dairy herd is being tested because its cows are displaying symptoms similar to bovine TB.

Government officials know the cow that brought bovine TB to the first dairy, but they're not sure where the animal was from.

That worries dairies in the San Joaquin Valley, home to six of the nation's top 10 dairy counties. California's dairy revenue was a record $4.63 billion in 2001.

"It's increased the concern people have about buying animals and bringing them into their herd," said Chuck Ahlem, who milks 2,000 cows on his two Hilmar dairies. "People are weighing the risk of replacing with the risk of buying a diseased cow."

Most farmers who buy cattle at auctions and from other ranchers now perform background checks on animals. Previously, a bill of sale was about the only paperwork that changed hands.

Dairymen aren't the only farmers focused on the health of their livestock and security of their farms. Caution and protection have become the buzzwords for farmers up and down the valley.

Though an outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease has been limited to Southern California, that hasn't kept valley poultry producers from doing everything short of barricading their barns.

"Our security was already a priority, but now it's tighter than ever," said Ron de la Motte, a squab grower in Turlock. "We're not allowing anyone near the birds. It's too risky."

The disease is lethal to poultry and could devastate de la Motte's 5,000 pairs of squab - the birds mate for life - before the first bird showed signs of being sick.

"When I think of Newcastle, I think of going out of business," said de la Motte, a squab rancher for 25 years. "It freaks me out just hearing about the disease."

And de la Motte's not alone.

The major poultry and egg producers - Foster Farms of Livingston, J.S. West of Modesto and Gemperle Farms of Turlock - forbid all but the most essential personnel and equipment from even approaching their barns.

Employees must be sanitized, change clothes and even change shoes before entering the barns, according to poultry officials. Workers are forbidden from visiting two barns in the same day, for fear they might carry a microorganism between the flocks.

Newcastle can move from one barn to another on tires, wooden pallets, a cap or even a wedding ring, according to researchers.

California's $3 billion poultry industry is a combination of broilers and layers that are raised for meat and eggs, respectively.

Like dairymen who are forced by the government to kill their diseased cows, poultry producers are paid by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for eradicating birds that either have Newcastle or have been exposed to it.

Farmers in San Diego County, where a Mexican fruit fly infestation has resulted in a 117-square-mile quarantine, aren't as lucky.

The USDA doesn't pay farmers who are forced to destroy crops and lose income due to infestations from flies and other pests.

"That's one reason we get so nervous when we hear of a fly infestation," said Kevin Chiesa, who works 500 acres of peaches near Hughson. "The other is that there's little we can do to keep a fly from entering our orchards."

Unlike ranchers, who can control what animals come and go from their farms, fruit tree growers are at the mercy of the flies.

"Our best hope is to stop the fly at the border, before it has a chance to get into the state," Chiesa said. "The state has been doing a good job of monitoring for pests, which is why we haven't more of these problems."

Much like their peers in poultry, the valley's fruit producers are counting on the Tehachapis to help keep these current outbreaks in Southern California.

During previous infestations, farmers - even those outside the quarantine - found it difficult to export because of fears that fly larvae would accompany the apples, peaches, apricots and citrus into overseas markets.

Those markets are crucial to California farmers, who exported $8.7 billion of goods in fiscal year 2001, the USDA reported.

(Distributed by Scripps-McClatchy Western Service, http://www.shns.com.)



CFBF

Exotic Newcastle disease hits another South State flock
Issue Date: January 22, 2003

By Kate Campbell
Assistant Editor

REF: http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/2003/01_22_03_c_aa.aspx

Chickens at a second commercial egg ranch in San Bernardino County have tested positive for exotic Newcastle disease, bringing to five the number of commercial flocks infected by the disease.

As a result of the positive finding last week, authorities ordered destruction of another 400,000 chickens.

This newly identified flock brings the number of birds that have been or will be destroyed since last fall to more than 1.6 million.

Federal and state agricultural officials said two of the infected flocks are in San Bernardino County, two in Riverside County and one in San Diego County. Exotic Newcastle disease was first confirmed in backyard poultry in Southern California in October 2002 and in commercial poultry in December 2002.

So far more than 5,300 premises have been quarantined in Southern California, primarily in Los Angeles and Riverside counties. Nearly 1,200 of these premises contained infected birds and all birds in these flocks were humanely destroyed and the premises sanitized.

Increasing concern about the disease spreading, officials in the State of Nevada last week found exotic Newcastle disease in a backyard chicken flock near Nellis Air Force Base. All birds in the Amargosa Valley, from Nye County to Clark County, now cannot be moved out of the area for four months to a year.

Under current California quarantine regulations, owners of any species of birds within the quarantine area are prohibited from moving birds and bird products outside the area. Shows and sales of poultry within the quarantine are only permitted if the event manager has a signed compliance agreement with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

Once poultry enter the quarantine area for exhibition or sale, the birds are not permitted to leave the area. Those who violate quarantine restrictions are liable for up to $25,000 in fines.

In another measure to help control the spread of exotic Newcastle disease in California, the state's Division of Fairs and Expositions is "strongly recommending" that fair boards in California suspend all poultry shows for the 2003 fair season.

A letter sent to fair organizers and youth farm groups last week, said the division also urges fair organizers to examine all poultry displays and exhibits including live birds to determine if they are in the best interest of the fair to proceed. Further, the division is "strongly encouraging" fairs to educate the public about exotic Newcastle disease.

The goal of these control efforts is to keep the virus from spreading into Central California, where a majority of the state's poultry is raised. A similar outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease that started in San Bernardino County in 1971 spread statewide, threatening the entire U.S. egg and poultry industry, costing more than $56 million to eradicate and causing destruction of nearly 12 million chickens.

California's commercial poultry industry has a value of more than $3 billion annually. Egg production in the state totaled more than $236 million in 2001.

Exotic Newcastle disease is a highly contagious viral disease that affects most species of birds, but does not pose a public health threat and does not affect the safety of eggs.

Canada, Mexico and China have banned poultry and poultry products from California and the outbreak has halted shipments of all U.S. poultry to Colombia. Despite U.S. protests, the European Union has also banned all U.S. poultry and egg products.

"We are certainly explaining to (the EU) there is no need to ban all U.S. product," said U. S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Alisa Harrison. Although California is the ninth largest poultry-producing state, it is not a major exporter and industry officials said the outbreak would not have a significant impact on U.S. farm exports.

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item.



The Press-Enterprise, CA

Bird landfill rules change
DISPOSAL: State officials say chickens destroyed in a bid to curb disease have to be buried immediately.

NOTE: See original story at LINK

01/22/2003

REF: http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_NEWS_nachick22.a197e.html

By BETTYE WELLS MILLER, LESLIE BERKMAN and DAVID DANELSKI
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

Regulators overseeing the disposal of nearly 2 million chickens ordered Inland landfills to cover the carcasses immediately with dirt Tuesday as they tried to stop the spread of exotic Newcastle disease.

That is a marked change from an earlier practice that left dead birds exposed in piles 20 feet high or covered with trash until day's end, when bulldozers shoved them into plastic-lined pits.

Now, bulldozers will cover chickens in dirt as they arrive to keep wild birds from picking at the carcasses and spreading disease, state agriculture officials said.

A task force that is fighting the virus met with landfill operators Tuesday to clarify the procedures, said Larry Cooper, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

A story and photographs in Saturday's Press-Enterprise showing birds exposed at the dump caused concern and prompted the review, he said.

"We were not aware that some of these people were not following procedures," Cooper said.

Operators of Mid-Valley Sanitation Landfill in Rialto and El Sobrante Landfill south of Corona had been covering carcasses in trash as late as Tuesday. As late as Tuesday, landfill operators thought they were doing the right thing covering the carcasses in trash, Cooper said.

Last week, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said there were so many truckloads of dead birds that covering each load would slow the burial process.

But trash does not necessarily offer an adequate barrier to keep animals and birds away from the virus, said Richard Breitmeyer, the state veterinarian.

The policy review began over the weekend after some agriculture experts told The Press-Enterprise that carcasses should be buried or incinerated immediately to keep wild birds from spreading the disease.

Exotic Newcastle is almost always fatal to birds. It is a dreaded threat in the Inland area, which produces 40 percent of California's eggs.

The virus has turned up so far in four commercial egg farms in the past month, two in San Bernardino County, one in Riverside County and one in San Diego County. The task force plans to destroy about 1.7 million chickens and 73,000 backyard birds, including ducks, doves and cockatiels.

Killing infected and exposed birds is part of the state and federal effort to eradicate the disease before it decimates the state's egg industry.

At the El Sobrante Landfill south of Corona, booms from a propane canon echoed through the rolling hills on Tuesday afternoon.

The landfill operators installed the noisemaker in recent weeks to scare seagulls and other fowl from the massive dump, said Damon DeFrates, district manager for Waste Management, the landfill operator. The landfill keeps dead chickens, eggs, manure and other debris infected with or exposed to the virus far away from public areas.

Landfill officials get prior notice of a load of dead chickens or other infected material. On Tuesday, workers dumped carcasses into a massive pit marked with fluorescent orange cones. A bulldozer covered the birds with a layer of regular trash, which was then covered with composted green waste and dirt, DeFrates said.

That practice was to change to require immediate covering with a layer of dirt, Cooper said.

Joseph McCann, general manager and chief engineer for Riverside County Waste Management, said he expects to meet this week with University of California farm adviser Doug Kuney for further review of carcass disposal.

"We want to be sure we are tying up any loose ends," he said.

The Badlands landfill east of Moreno Valley and Lamb Canyon landfill near Beaumont also accept birds and eggs from infected ranches, McCann said. Normally landfills can't take any loads that are more than 50 percent liquid, he said, but the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board has made an exception in this case for eggs where landfills are lined with plastic.

Peter Wulfman, division manger for San Bernardino County Waste Management, said he visited the Mid-Valley Sanitation Landfill on Tuesday after seeing photographs of exposed chickens in The Press-Enterprise.

He observed workers covering carcasses immediately in trash and spraying trucks with disinfectant before they left for another load, Wulfman said. He left satisfied thinking that was proper procedure, he said.

The federal government has imposed a quarantine for most of California and two counties in Nevada that forbids birds from being moved outside the area. Oregon, Washington and Arizona recently banned the importing of birds from quarantined areas.

Oregon has no agricultural inspection stations at its borders, but may consider some type of checkpoint to enforce the quarantine, said Andrew Clark, Oregon's state veterinarian. Dumping infected chickens in landfills is an acceptable disposal method, he said, as long as they are buried quickly. "The sooner the better," he said.

Leslie Berkman can reached by email at lberkman@pe.com.

David Danelski can reached by email at ddanelski@pe.com.



LA Times, CA

January 22, 2003

CALIFORNIA
Chicken Disease Spreads Fear
County fairs, parrot fanciers are canceling bird-related events due to outbreak in poultry.

REF: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-chickens22jan22.story

By Nita Lelyveld, Times Staff Writer

The live poultry show has been canceled at next month's Riverside County Fair. The ever-popular ostrich races are a scratch too. And hundreds of California schoolchildren who have spent the last year raising chickens, ducks and geese for county fairs will have to demonstrate their fowl-handling skills using puppets.

Since a highly contagious and deadly bird virus hit Southern California in October, state and federal agencies have been forced to take extreme measures to contain the outbreak. Exotic Newcastle disease is so virulent that a speck on a shoe, a shirt or a feather can spread it. Southern California bird owners are so panicked that many won't visit a pet shop or feed store for fear that they'll carry the bug back to their broods.

The disease won't hurt humans, but it can kill chickens, cockatoos, cockatiels -- just about any bird.

So before heading to last week's meeting of the Antelope Valley Caged Bird Society, Suzi Eslick of Palmdale, who breeds birds and has 100, put on a painter's coverall she had purchased at Home Depot. She insisted that all club members wade in their shoes through a bath of disinfectant before entering the meeting hall.

"I don't even want anyone coming to my house," Eslick said. For her precious African grays, macaws and lovebirds, it's just too risky.

The San Gabriel Valley Parakeet Assn.'s members frequently bring their birds together in small parlor shows. The group is considering canceling its March event, said president John Miles, a champion exhibitor who has about 300 birds at his Glendale home.

"We're not talking pet shop birds. We're talking about birds that cost anywhere from $100 to $1,000 apiece," he said.

Because of the threat to the state's $3-billion poultry industry, birds in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties have been quarantined since December. This month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture expanded the quarantine to include the nearby counties of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Imperial. Inspectors trying to contain the virus kill not just contaminated birds but also any that may have been exposed. Birds can't leave the quarantined areas.

As founder of the Parrot Education & Adoption Center in San Diego, Bonnie Kenk regularly rescues and finds homes for birds. The disease has halted such activities. She also travels around the area giving seminars on themes including avian "potty training" and "Sex and the Single Parrot." For a recent seminar on parrot anatomy she had planned to take along Ariel, a Moluccan cockatoo, as a model. Instead she got a friend to videotape her pointing at Ariel's parts -- no easy task because Ariel was fascinated by the camera.

"She kept flying right at it. It took a while," Kenk said.

Kenk said she would have to rework her other seminars too, so that her educational activities won't be disrupted now that the birds have to stay home.

She's not the only one.

Each year in California, hundreds of young people participate in poultry exhibits and competitions at dozens of fairs as members of 4-H programs or Future Farmers of America. State officials have been worried that the disease's various quarantines will disappoint the children, many of whom are 5 or 6 years old. They're also worried about teenagers, who can spend many months carefully feeding and tending their birds to prepare them for auctions and competition. Officials are scrambling to come up with alternatives so that no one will miss out on the educational experiences.

Bird Shows Banned

This month, the state banned bringing birds to shows in the eight quarantined counties. And the state also is urging the operators of the 80 state fairs to eliminate live birds from the 2003 season. "We want to make sure that the kids have time to be redirected to other projects," said Elizabeth Houser, director of the state agriculture department's fairs and expositions division.

Right after the first cases of the virus were found in Compton in October, the state closed down the Fur and Feathers building at the Big Fresno Fair. But fair officials rearranged the events so that 400 children wouldn't have their dreams crushed. Instead of bringing in their birds to auction them off, the children held up photographs, Houser said. They demonstrated their knowledge of poultry using a chicken made of felt.

It's going to be a familiar sight at county fairs this year.

Puppets Substituted

Puppets and dolls are less-than-ideal substitutes for real birds, but they're better than nothing, said Kristina Byrne, chairwoman of the small animal advisory committee for San Diego County's 4-H program.

At most fairs, young poultry show participants compete in showmanship events, where they show judges how they hold their birds and how well they can control them.

"They have to walk the birds the length of a table using a little pointer to guide them. It takes practice. A lot of times, birds will fly away, so that's points off," she said.

The 12 plush puppets she recently purchased obviously won't move on their own, but children still will be able to use them at a March fair in Ramona to point out the birds' parts and demonstrate holding them.

In Ventura County, fair officials usually have a costume contest in which children and teenagers take their birds to the fairgrounds decked out in hula skirts and tutus. This year, they'll have to dress them at home and take snapshots.

"They'll still be able to participate in the fair -- just without birds," said Katie Zack, chairman of small livestock for Ventura County 4-H clubs.

Julie Kirby, an FFA member at Canoga Park High School, fell in love with ducks as a young girl the first time her mom took her to feed the birds at the park. Last year, she raised 28 Muscovy ducks, making sure they maintained a consistent weight and ample breast and leg meat so that they could be sold. She's disappointed that she won't be able to do it this year for the summer fairs.

"I'm going to have to do my research now and find out what this disease is," said the 11th-grader, who plans to sit out the fair season.

For Nancy Kobert of Ramona, near San Diego, sitting out the season isn't an option. For the last seven years, Kobert, an animal trainer, has made her living touring fairs across the West with her Amazing World of Birds, a bird show featuring an Amazon parrot named Lola which sings and does impressions of dogs and cats, and a kookaburra, a hornbill and a giant East African crowned crane.

Now, she says, "I can't do a thing. It's really daunting because this is how I pay my bills."

To keep her birds healthy, she's posted signs outside her property, telling most people to go away. Delivery people know to leave packages in a box by the gate. Those who must drive in have to get out of their vehicles and disinfect their shoes before doing so.

Stuck without a way to do her day job, Kobert is working on a birdless alternative. She's planning a new interactive exhibit on the disease, whose spread will be demonstrated using thousands of neatly lined up dominos. She's hoping she can get it ready in time to hold onto her fair bookings.

"The way the virus spreads is a lot like dominos toppling. It just takes one person bringing it in and suddenly it's everywhere," she said. "That's why these quarantines are happening. That's why we're all so scared. If we take this lightly, this won't just pass in a matter of months. We could all be devastated."

Times staff writers David Pierson, Jennifer Mena and Amanda Covarrubias contributed to this report.



Gainesville Times, GA

Poultry expo opens today
Poultry Watch
By Chris Hill

Wednesday, January 22, 2003

REF: http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20030122/localnews/826133.html

Today marks the first day of the 55th International Poultry Exposition in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center.

The show, sponsored by the Tucker-based U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, continues through Friday.

This year's theme is "Leading into the Future."

The show has become a key event each year, not only for the domestic poultry industry, but for the international industry as well. International visitors typically account for about 20 percent of attendance at the exposition.

New for the show this year is an addition to the Georgia World Congress Center. The Phase IV expansion offers 420,000 square feet of exhibit space and a 27,000-square-foot ballroom.

The new addition, labeled Building C, also offers a new entrance that has been touted as large enough to house the Titanic.

Exhibitors at this year's show also will be categorized and placed by industry segment, specifically by live production and processing.

Exhibit halls open at 9 a.m. today, with the College Student Career Program beginning at 8:30 a.m. The latter also continues through Friday.

One of the biggest draws of the show, the educational program, begins at 9 a.m. Thursday. Topics that are scheduled include avian influenza, environmental regulations, animal welfare and food safety.

Additional features of this year's show include a presentation from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and a special discussion at 8 a.m. Friday regarding the recent outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease in California.

The disease is devastating to poultry and can be ultimately disastrous to the U.S. industry. Several countries, including Mexico and Canada, have placed full or partial bans on U.S. poultry products because of the disease.

For more information, contact the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, 1530 Cooledge Road, Tucker, GA 30084-7303; (770) 493-9401; or www.poultryegg.org.

Chris Hill is editor and production director of Gainesville-based Poultry Times and Poultry & Egg Marketing. He can be reached at (770) 536-2476 or chill@poultryandeggnews.com.



Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA

Conservation workers clean contaminated coops
By NAOMI KRESGE
STAFF WRITER

REF: http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~1126708,00.html

The elimination of chicken flocks exposed to exotic Newcastle disease continued in Mira Loma this week, with cleanup crews sweeping sites in a small neighborhood off Van Buren Boulevard.

------------------------
Representatives from the California Department of Food and Agriculture will provide owners of backyard birds with information on exotic Newcastle disease Thursday in a Norco community workshop. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. at Nellie Weaver Hall, located on Sixth Street in Ingalls Park, Norco. For more information call (909) 270-5623.
-----------------------

White-suited California Conservation Corps workers started on Birmingham Avenue on Monday,
according to a crew foreman, and will probably be in the area until at least next Wednesday,
mucking out coops that had housed birds infected -- or threatened -- by the virus.


"We scrub down the cage, rake the floor of the cage, remove perches, feeders, hay," foreman Mike Wall said. "We remove the first inch of soil on the floor."

He said his team is getting a fresh list of sites to decontaminate each day; how long they stay depends to some extent on the number of new sites they must clean.

Homeowner David Frias said Tuesday that he and his neighbors called state authorities themselves once they realized that his next-door neighbor's birds were infected. He said the state offered to buy his 20-chicken backyard flock, even though they showed no signs of the disease.

"Why wait until they start dying?" he said.

State authorities took four chickens and a peacock from one neighbor, he said, although he believes another neighbor is holding out until she sees signs of illness in her small flock of geese in the hope that they will not need to be destroyed.

Crews were working at more than one Birmingham Avenue home on Tuesday.

Frias, who owns two horses and moved to Mira Loma 10 years ago from La Puente because he wanted to keep livestock, said he had considered simply letting his own 10-bird covey of doves fly away.

State Department of Food and Agriculture representative Larry Cooper said letting birds loose probably only postpones their deaths.

"If they happen to have been exposed, you're spreading the disease," he said. "Even if they haven't been exposed yet and they fly away free, they're going to be exposed, and they're going to die anyway."

Cooper declined to explain how widespread the cleanup in Frias's neighborhood has been so far, saying his agency will keep that information under wraps until the quarantine is lifted.

State records show that over 73,000 backyard fowl -- and over a million commercial birds -- have been killed since the virus was first identified in Compton in October. Since then, the disease has spread throughout Los Angeles county and into western Riverside County and San Bernardino County. San Diego, Ventura and Orange counties have handled one case each. The death rate of birds infected is 100 percent.

Cooper said state officials are relying on information from bird owners as well as their own inspections to stop the spread of exotic Newcastle in backyard coops.

"If they're in a quarantine area or an area where we found the infestation, we've gone door to door," he said. "Really, we're in the fairly early stages of this program. We're still surveying to see where the virus is."

The virus can spread from coop to coop in a neighborhood on shoes, clothing, the air or even human nasal passages, according to Cooper. The virus is not harmful to humans.

Livestock owners who believe their birds may be sick are being encouraged to call 1-800-491-1899, a toll-free information line staffed by a state veterinarian.

Naomi Kresge can be reached by e-mail atnaomi.kresge@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8553.



Baxter Bulletin, AR

Protecting poultry against Exotic Newcastle Disease
MARK KEATON
County Extension agent

REF: http://www.baxterbulletin.com/news/stories/20030122/localnews/823961.html

On Oct. 1, Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) was confirmed in backyard poultry and gamefowl in southern California. Since that time, numerous backyard premises have been quarantined for END.

On Dec. 27 and Jan. 2, the disease was also confirmed in flocks of layer chickens in the same area of California. These two commercial premises also are under quarantine, and two other commercial layer farms are awaiting confirmation. The California Department of Agriculture and USDA/APHIS are presently working to eradicate the disease. The mortality rate associated with the disease in commercial chickens has been relatively low compared to that in the backyard and gamefowl flocks, which has been 75-100 percent. Five counties (Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernadino, San Diego, and Orange counties) or portions thereof are under a state and federal quarantine to restrict bird movement.

The causative agent of END is a virus (Rubulavirus) in the family Paramyxoviridae. The virus can persist in feces for long periods of time and some bird species (parrots and some wild birds) may be carriers of the virus. Outbreaks of the disease can cause severe losses in a short period of time. Birds can contract the disease by direct contact with infected birds, feces or other body secretions, exposure over short distances to aerosols, from coughing and sneezing or contaminated equipment, clothing, etc. The incubation period for the disease varies from two-15 days with the incubation period in chickens being two-six days. Clinical symptoms of the disease can include: a sudden death loss or increase in losses, high rates of death, gasping for air, coughing, sneezing, green watery diarrhea, depression, loss of appetite, droopy wings, twisting of the head and neck, circling, egg production loss, paralysis, and muscle spasms. Mortalitiy varies with the viral strain and species infected but may be high at the initial onset. Lesions observed with the disease include: a nasal discharge, swelling in the neck tissues around the trachea, swelling around the eyes, thin misshapen eggs, hemorrhages on the tracheal mucosal surface, small pinpoint hemorrhages on the inside lining of the proventriculus, hemorrhage and necrosis of the lymphoid tissue in the intestines, and hemorrhages in the vent. However, since the symptoms and lesions are not exclusive for END, the disease must be differentiated from similar diseases such as avian influenza and fowl cholera. A definitive diagnosis is currently based upon virus isolation and identification. This disease can cause devastating, costly losses in commercial poultry, backyard and hobby flocks, pet bird aviaries, etc. There is no effective cure for the disease, and the only way to eradicate the disease is by strict quarantine, survillance, and depopulation. The best way to reduce the risk of introducing the disease into your birds is by following biosecurity practices. Examples of such practices are:

Permit only essential visitors, workers, and/or equipment on the farm.

Provide all employees with clean, sanitized or disposable clothing and boots for use on the farm.

Have a disinfection protocol in place for all employees and visitors.

Clean and disinfect vehicles at the entrance to the farm.

Do not visit other farms or facilities that have birds.

Prevent rodents and wild birds from entering the facilities where birds are kept.

Take precautions when entering your property after visiting any place where birds are kept.

Report signs of disease immediately, and get a veterinary diagnosis on any bird that dies. For information or to report disease, call Baxter County Extension office at 425-2335, any local veterinarian, Arkansas State Veterinarian at (501) 907-2400 or Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission Diagnostic Labs at (479) 751-4869 or (501) 907-2430.



WBRZ, LA, Times Picayune, LA

La. poultry producers told to watch for disease

Associated Press

REF: Story last updated at 8:27 p.m. Tuesday, January 21, 2003
REF: http://www.nola.com/newsflash/louisiana/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?n1480_BC_LA--PoultryDisease-La&&news&newsflash-louisiana

Poultry producers should be on the lookout for a bird disease which forced the quarantine of Southern California's poultry, in case it gets this far, agriculture officials say.

Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom said Tuesday that he sent a letter and fact sheet about Exotic Newcastle Disease to every poultry producer and veterinarian in Louisiana.

Poultry is Louisiana's largest livestock industry, with a gross farm income of $493 million and $474 million worth of processing in the state in 2001.

The disease, harmless to people but fatal to birds, forced the slaughter of more than 1.7 million chickens as a precaution in Southern California since the virus was first found there in September.

Last week, it was found in a neighborhood near Las Vegas. Nevada authorities said Tuesday that one turkey and 132 chickens, geese and ducks have been destroyed by authorities trying to contain the outbreak.

The highly contagious virus affects all species of birds.

"I want to stress that we do not have Exotic Newcastle Disease in Louisiana. We sent the letter and fact sheet to make producers and veterinarians aware of the disease because our best protection against END is knowledge and information," Odom said.

The quarantines in California and southern Nevada include chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, grouse, partridges, pheasants, quail, guinea fowl, peafowl, doves, pigeons, swans and ratites - emus, ostriches and rheas.

Louisiana State Veterinarian, Dr. Maxwell Lea, said END is spread primarily through direct contact between healthy birds and the bodily discharges of infected birds.

"The disease is highly contagious and spreads rapidly among birds kept in confinement," Lea said. "It is often spread by vaccination and debeaking crews, manure haulers, rendering truck drivers, feed delivery personnel, poultry buyers, egg service people, poultry farm owners and farm employees."

In a warm, humid environment, he said, the virus can survive for weeks on birds' feathers, manure and other material.

END affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems in birds. Clinical signs include sneezing, coughing, gasping for air, watery diarrhea, drooping wings, complete paralysis, drop in egg production and increased death loss in a flock.



Reno Gazette Journal, NV

Chickens, geese destroyed due to bird virus outbreak in Vegas
Associated Press

1/21/2003 03:00 pm

REF: http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=1093548&nav=9qrxDUxI

http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/01/21/32506.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News

One turkey and 132 chickens, geese and ducks have been destroyed by authorities trying to contain an outbreak of a deadly and highly infectious bird virus in a Las Vegas neighborhood.

Kimberley Smith, spokeswoman for a multi-agency Exotic Newcastle Disease task force, said Tuesday that nine properties near Nellis Air Force base are believed affected by the avian disease.

Birds have been eradicated and disinfection efforts have begun at six properties, she said. So-called"depopulation"teams were due Tuesday to eliminate birds from three more properties.

The discovery of infected chickens in a backyard flock last week prompted federal and state officials to expand a strict quarantine on poultry and pet birds from California to southern Nevada _ including all of Clark County and parts of Nye County south of Amargosa Valley.

The virus poses no threat to humans, and the sale of chicken and other poultry products is not affected by the quarantine.

However, pet and feed stores have been told that no birds can be moved or sold.

Nevada has no commercial poultry industry. But state and federal agriculture officials fear the spread of the disease could taint the multi-billion-dollar Southern California poultry industry.

More than 1.7 million chickens have been slaughtered as a precaution in Southern California since the virus was first found there in September.

Utah and Oregon agriculture officials last week banned the importation of birds from areas in California and Nevada affected by Exotic Newcastle Disease



KESO NEWS

Newcastle quarantine spreads to pet birds

REF: New information on a deadly disease killing poultry and birds. The state has now widened its Newcastle disease quarantine to include pet birds.

Pet birds in Southern California and Nevada can't leave the quarantine area. So bird owners, like the woman who owns all of these birds, can't travel with their birds, and bird breeders can't sell outside the state. We met one man who says his business, and his birds may not survive this deadly disease.

From toucans to parakeets, the Bracken Bird Farm in Redlands sells thousands of birds, for thousands of dollars. But now, these cages, once full, are empty, and won't be filled for some time, now that the Newcastle quarantine has extended to pet birds, meaning they can't leave the quarantine area of Southern California.

“The people back east keep calling and I say I can't sell because of Newcastle,” says Joe Bracken, owner of Bracken Bird Farm. “And their next question is when it's gonna end. And I say I don't have a clue.”

Bracken says his business has plummeted by 75 percent. His contracts with out of state buyers, gone. His business with big name companies like Petco, cut-off.

The Newcastle scare isn't just wiping out bracken's business, it's changing the rules for anyone who owns a pet bird. The quarantine applies to them as well.

And at pet stores, like Petsmart, they're passing around Newcastle information sheets, telling customers if they buy a bird, they can't take it out of the area, or face a 25, 000 fine.

At Petsmart, they're still selling healthy birds, but they've stopped transferring birds from store to store inside California, just to be safe. But Joe Bracken says nothing's safe for him anymore. He's owned his bird farm for 30 years, he's even been through 2 Newcastle epidemics, but this time around, he doesn't know if his business will survive.

01/21/03 - Kristine Lazar reporting



Reno Gazette Journal, NV, Las Vegas Sun, NV

Brief news stories from Las Vegas

Associated Press

1/20/2003 02:50 pm REF: http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/01/20/32423.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News
REF: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/jan/20/012010846.html?newcastle

Nearly 100 chickens have been euthanized in a neighborhood near Nellis Air Force Base since a deadly bird disease was discovered there last week, an official with the Exotic Newcastle Disease task force said Monday.

Officers also were telephoning pet and feed stores in and around Las Vegas to notify them of a quarantine on all birds in Clark County and southern Nye County, including a strict ban on bird movement and sales.

Task force spokeswoman Kimberly Smith said 97 chickens had been destroyed since Exotic Newcastle Disease was discovered Thursday and the quarantine was imposed in southern Nevada.

Exotic Newcastle Disease poses no harm to humans, and the sale of chicken and other poultry products is not affected by the quarantine order.

But the virus is highly contagious and fatal for birds, and poses a severe threat to the commercial poultry industry in California. Nevada has no commercial poultry industry.

More than 1.7 million chickens have been slaughtered as a precaution in Southern California since the virus was first found there in September.

Utah and Oregon agriculture officials have banned the importation of birds from areas in California and Nevada affected by Exotic Newcastle Disease.



KVBC, NV

More Cases of "Exotic Newcastle Disease" Springing Up

REF: http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=1091223&nav=15MVDT16

January 20, 2003

More birds are falling prey to a deadly poultry disease. Workers with the 'Exotic Newcastle' disease task force say nearly 100 chickens from two backyard flocks near Nellis Air Force Base have been euthanized. That's up from 78 last week.

State and Federal workers have also expanded the quarantine of poultry and pet birds. It now includes Southern California, Clark County and parts of Nye county. It means no birds can be sold at pet stores -- and bird owners aren't allowed to move their animals.

The virus poses no threat to humans. If you'd like more information on the Exotic Newcastle disease, call the hotline at: 515-5200



AgWeb

1/20/2003
Canada Adds Nevada to its Poultry Import Ban List
by Roger Bernard

REF: http://www.agweb.com/news_show_news_article.asp?file=AgNewsArticle_2003120943_3436&articleid=94552&newscat=GN

Canada has extended its ban on poultry/product imports to cover both California and Nevada as the Exotic Newcastle disease has now been found in both states.

Canada issued a 14-day ban on California poultry and poultry products on Dec. 31 and extended that ban and added poultry from Nevada to the list on Friday.

Canada has not gone the route of the European Union which has banned all U.S. poultry/product imports. Canadian officials say there's no need to ban all U.S. poultry since U.S. East Coast is free of the disease.

The Canadian government will lift its ban when U.S. officials can prove the disease has been eradicated.

Already, some 1.7 million birds have been killed in California as officials try and eradicate the disease.



Monterey County Herald, CA, Fort Wayne News Sentinel, IN

Biologists vaccinate birds, educate public about mosquitos

By KEVIN HOWE
Monterey (Calif.) Herald

REF: http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/4989048.htm
REF: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/4989048.htm

Bracing for an expected arrival of West Nile virus in Monterey County this year, biologists working to reintroduce California condors to Big Sur are vaccinating the birds, just in case.

No one knows if the giant scavengers are susceptible to the mosquito-borne disease, but with only 200 condors known to exist in California and Arizona, "We want it headed off at the pass," said Kelly Sorenson, executive director of the Ventana Wilderness Society, sponsor of the Big Sur condor release project.

Condors raised in captivity in zoos already are being vaccinated against West Nile, Sorenson said, "and we're looking at doing the same for wild birds" by recapturing and inoculating them.

The Wilderness Society is holding planning sessions on recovering released birds to vaccinate them, he said.

The birds are rare -- in 1982, only 22 of them were known to exist -- and so therefore are constantly under close watch.

All condors released in Big Sur since 1997 had been raised in captive breeding programs at the Los Angeles Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park. There are 23 free on the Central Coast now, but the Wilderness Society aspires to eventually have 300 condors living in the wild.

Recent outbreaks of another disease has also caused some alarm.

An outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease in the San Diego area has caused a quarantine of condors at the Wild Animal Park, Sorenson said, holding up the Big Sur release program.

So far, neither Exotic Newcastle Disease nor West Nile virus has been detected in the condor population. Newcastle disease is known to affect domestic poultry.

"We're working to be ahead of the game," Sorenson said. "We don't know its effect on condors, but with such a low population, we don't want to find out."

The threat of the looming West Nile virus has also motivated the Northern Salinas Valley Mosquito Abatement District, which covers 458 square miles from the Salinas River to Elkhorn Slough in North County.

The district will try to keep the mosquito population down by using biological sprays, draining ponds and ditches, and distributing mosquito-eating fish free of charge to people whose property contains ponds, pools or lakes.

Because mosquito larvae grow in water, Sanchez said, residents should empty any buckets, cans or other containers that fill with rainwater, and monitor horse and cattle troughs, said Vincent Sanchez, senior technician with the district.

Also, he said, residents should check ponds for larvae, and stock them with the free fish, Sanchez said.

Though the West Nile virus has been detected -- and proved fatal -- for humans, it is not common. The most recent count of West Nile virus in humans was 252 deaths out of 3,955 cases in the United States since the disease appeared on the East Coast in 1999, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of the 18 species of mosquito that occur in Monterey County, only four are known to be able to pass along West Nile virus, Sanchez said. "Those are the ones we want to keep under control."

Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416.



UPI Farming Today

By Gregory Tejeda
United Press International
Published 1/20/2003 1:15 AM

REF: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030117-034807-6561r

Ga. warned about bird disease

Georgia Agriculture Department officials warned all bird owners to take steps to keep a highly contagious disease out of the state.

Officials are worried about Exotic Newcastle disease, which has spread throughout southern California and has turned up in a chicken flock in Nevada. Officials in Canada and Mexico already are restricting U.S. poultry exports into their countries.

Georgia officials say they fear the disease, which could wipe out poultry in their state and can also be spread by various types of birds. The disease does not pose a threat to people but is fatal in fowl.


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