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Media Coverage February 1, 2003 to February 12, 2003 Most Current is Listed First

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The Press-Enterprise, CA

February 12, 2003
San Bernardino Edition
NOT ONLINE - Scanned

Las Vegas Sun, NV

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/feb/12/021210823.html

Today: February 12, 2003 at 15:00:45 PST

Arizona tribe euthanizes chickens affected by disease

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARKER, Ariz. (AP) - A western Arizona tribe has euthanized about 100 chickens in an effort to stamp out a highly infectious bird disease.

The state's first case of Exotic Newcastle Disease was reported on the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation last month. As a precaution, all the birds in a one-mile radius of the infected flock were euthanized, tribe spokesman Eric Shepard said Wednesday.

None of the birds were part of a commercial operation. They're kept primarily as pets and for their eggs, Shepard said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture compensated the bird owners for the losses, he said.

"People have been pretty cooperative," Shepard said.

No other infected chickens outside the original flock have been found. But the entire reservation remains under quarantine and officials are carefully monitoring chickens within a five-mile radius of the infected flock.

How the disease, which forced large-scale quarantines in California and Nevada, got to Arizona is still under investigation, Shepard said.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is highly contagious among poultry and other birds but does not pose a significant health risk to humans. In rare cases, it has been known to cause human eye infections, which can be treated with antibiotics.

Nevada officials last week eased restrictions on pet stores selling birds, after spending $1.4 million to destroy 1,670 chickens, turkeys, ducks and pea fowl in a neighborhood near Nellis Air Force Base north of Las Vegas.

The state's chief veterinarian said officials thought the highly contagious disease had almost been stamped out in Clark and southern Nye counties after being discovered on Jan. 16.

The quarantine on poultry remains in effect in southern Nevada and California.

Press Democrat Editorial

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/editorials/12ed3.html

No yolk

Deadly disease could damage county's historic poultry industry
February 12, 2003

In 1939, Petaluma was known as the "Egg Basket of the World." Livestock and poultry and their products (primarily milk and eggs) accounted for two-thirds of Sonoma County's agriculture.

By 2001, income from grapes outpaced livestock and poultry by nearly a three-to-one margin, and the Egg Basket had become Wine Country.

The fact that the Sonoma County ag industry isn't as reliant on chickens as it once was shouldn't diminish the potential impacts of Newcastle disease.

If this contagious virus gains a foothold, it could wipe out the county's 714,700 (according to the 2001 Sonoma County Agricultural Crop Report) chickens and turkeys and severely damage the $50 million poultry industry.

It could also potentially lead to scarcity and higher prices for local poultry and eggs. Imagine: Sunday dinner without a roasted Rocky the Range chicken, Thanksgiving without a Willie Bird turkey and breakfast without eggs from Santa Rosa Egg Farms.

Newcastle disease has the potential to wipe out the chicken and the egg, nevermind which came first.

Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, AZ

Rabies, poultry virus back in news

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=7026984&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222087&rfi=6

By: Staff Reports, Tri-Valley Dispatch February 12, 2003

First, there was a bobcat in the Riverside area that was positive for rabies last week. It scratched or bit a horse on the nose and then died. There was also a positive fox in Globe, which is in the same region where rabies have been found in the last three years. So, rabies isn't going away, even though winter is supposed to be the time that the virus typically slows down. Get your pets to those upcoming rabies clinics!

Also, Oscar told you about Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) in California. Well, little did I know that he would be right on the money with his warnings.

Last week, the governor declared a state of emergency in Arizona following the discovery of END in the western part of our state. There has been a quarantine put into effect by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Yuma County, La Paz County and the portion of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon.

This declaration stops importation from quarantined areas in California of live or dead birds of all types including poultry, any poultry products or other materials that are capable of transmitting the disease. Even poultry cages and transport vehicles must have certified proof of cleaning and disinfection, according to USDA protocols, before they can enter Arizona.

There is no vaccine for this particular form of the disease and it is extremely virulent. Dr. Rick Willer, Arizona's state veterinarian, said Exotic Newcastle Disease can affect any species of bird. And though it can affect people, it does not post a serious risk to human health. The disease in humans usually is limited to conjunctivitis, a mild inflammation of the tissues surrounding the eyes, and usually only occurs in people associated with affected birds.

If you have questions or want additional information, you can contact the Arizona Department of Agriculture Newcastle Disease Information line at (888) 742-5334 or go to their Web site at www.agriculture.state.az.us.

Hope you all have a nice week.

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

©Casa Grande Valley Newspaper 2003

San Diego Union Tribune, CA

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20030212-9999_2m12ranch.html

72,000 chickens destroyed after killer virus is found

San Bernardino County hit again

By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

February 12, 2003

Another commercial poultry ranch in San Bernardino County has tested positive for exotic Newcastle disease, the deadly avian virus that has infected birds across Southern California and in Arizona and Nevada.

Officials have ordered the ranch's 72,000 chickens destroyed, bringing the total number of birds to be euthanized in an attempt to stem the disease's spread to nearly 2.1 million.

To date, the effort to eradicate the disease has cost $35 million.

The ranch, the eighth commercial flock to be infected, is near other contaminated ranches as well as private property where birds have contracted exotic Newcastle, said Jay Van Rein, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. "If you take a look at a map and see where we're finding the disease, these areas are pretty well connected," Van Rein said.

The areas with the highest concentration of cases are in San Bernardino County, from San Bernardino through Mira Loma and Norco; and in Los Angeles County, around Montebello, South El Monte and Compton, the city where the outbreak was first confirmed in backyard flocks of chickens in October.

Members of the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force, which is made up of 1,600 federal and state workers, have been going door-to-door in areas where the disease has been found.

In San Diego County, the disease has been confined to two sites – a commercial egg ranch in Ramona and some birds on private property nearby.

Elizabeth Fitzsimons:
(760) 752-6743; elizabeth.fitzsimons@uniontrib.com

Gainesville Times, GA

Wednesday, February 12, 2003
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20030212/localnews/968540.html

Newcastle disease affecting poultry industry, curbing U.S. exports
Poultry Watch
By Chris Hill

Disease outbreaks in the poultry industry often have a double effect. Not only do they cause problems with the health of birds, but they have an impact on international trade.

Such is the case with the current problem with exotic Newcastle disease.

Because the disease is one of the most infectious poultry diseases, more than 30 countries have placed some ban on imports of U.S. poultry products.

Industry insiders estimate the disease could have a potential $5 billion impact on the U.S. poultry industry.

So far, the disease has been confined to Southern California and portions of Nevada and Arizona. Many state departments of agriculture have issued warnings aimed at stopping any importation of birds or eggs from the three states.

Experts in the eradication effort blame the disease outbreak on backyard flocks, and in particular it seems the disease is most prevalent in birds being bred and reared for fighting.

In Southern California, these are raised close to commercial laying operations.

The disease spreads through contact of "bodily discharges," which include bird droppings and secretions from the nose, mouth and eyes. It spreads quickly among birds kept in confinement

Signs of disease include coughing, sneezing, tremors, circling, paralysis, swelling of skin tissues around eyes and neck, high death rate, drop in egg production and eggs with thin shells.

Much of the recommended protective measures for commercial producers revolve around transmission prevention, which means producers should thoroughly clean and disinfect anything (including people) that may come in contact with other commercial production property and in particular, areas where backyard flocks are prevalent.

USDA has declared the situation an extraordinary emergency and has committed $100 million for the eradication effort. So far, almost 2 million birds have been identified to be destroyed.

For more information on exotic Newcastle disease, see the USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service's Web site at www. aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/ enc/exoticnc.html.

Georgia growers with birds exhibiting symptoms of exotic Newcastle disease should call the Georgia Department of Agriculture at (800) 282-5852.

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.

This is erroneous information. It is NOT an airborne disease.

Press-Enterprise, CA, San Jose Mercury News, CA

About 72,000 chickens ordered destroyed in San Bernardino County

The Associated Press

SAN BERNARDINO

http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/CA_Poultry_Disease_97483C.shtml
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5162338.htm

Health officials have ordered 72,000 chickens to be destroyed after the latest outbreak of a deadly avian virus that has forced the quarantine of the region's poultry was discovered at a ranch here.

The total number of birds that have been destroyed because of the outbreak of the Exotic Newcastle Disease has reached nearly 2.1 million and eradication costs have ballooned to $35 million.

The ranch, the eighth commercial flock to be infected, is near other contaminated ranches as well as private property where birds have contracted the disease, said Jay Van Rein, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

"If you take a look at a map and see where we're finding the disease, these areas are pretty well connected," Van Rein said.

The areas with the highest concentration of cases are in San Bernardino County, from San Bernardino through Mira Loma and Norco; and in Los Angeles County, around Montebello, South El Monte and Compton, the city where the outbreak was first confirmed in backyard flocks of chickens in October.

Last month, Gov. Gray Davis and the federal Department of Agriculture declared states of emergency across Southern California and expanded a quarantine zone for the disease.

The quarantine prohibits the movement of all poultry, poultry products and nesting materials in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties. Reports of the outbreak also have been reported in Arizona.

The disease is usually fatal to poultry but will not harm humans. It can be transmitted through feces, feed, cages and other materials and can become airborne.

Since the outbreak, Canada temporarily stopped all shipments of poultry and poultry products from California. Mexico, the state's leading export market for poultry, enacted a similar ban.

Published: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 01:23 PST

The Bakersfield Californian

Agriculture almanac for Feb. 12

http://www.bakersfield.com/business/story/2604853p-2651422c.html

Around the state

it's been illegal in California for 98 years, but officials in the poultry industry say cockfighting may be one way exotic Newcastle disease is spread. Fighting birds are moved without regard to quarantines and are not seen by veterinarians or vaccinated. Cockfighting played a role in the spread of the highly contagious avian virus in California's last outbreak in the 1970s.

KCCI, IA

http://www.theiowachannel.com/health/1969945/detail.html

Iowa Expands Turkey, Chicken Products Ban
Health Officials Say Newcastle Disease Spread To Arizona

POSTED: 9:33 a.m. CST February 11, 2003
UPDATED: 9:37 a.m. CST February 11, 2003

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge says that a moratorium that prohibits some states' birds and poultry products from being brought into Iowa has been expanded to include Arizona.

California and Nevada also fall under the moratorium, which was first issued on Jan. 22. It is intended to prevent Iowa's poultry industry from being exposed to birds and poultry products from areas considered to be endemic for Exotic Newcastle Disease.

Judge said the revised order came after a flock of chickens in Arizona was confirmed to have the disease.

The only exceptions to the order will be approved by Iowa State Veterinarian Dr. John Schiltz.

Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press.

Los Angeles, Times, CA - Inland Valley Voice

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ontario/news/la-ivo-newsbrief11feb11,1,4500430.story

February 11, 2003

Avian disease spreads to another ranch

Inland Valley Voice
By Staff Reports, Inland Valley Voice

A deadly avian disease has spread to a commercial egg ranch in San Bernardino County, making it the fourth affected ranch in the county in the last two months, officials from a disease eradication task force said Monday.

The egg ranch, in western San Bernardino County, has 72,000 hens, task force spokesman Jay Van Rein said. Its birds will be destroyed.

Exotic Newcastle disease, which is not harmful to humans, also was found at egg ranches in Riverside and San Diego counties. The task force is investigating how the disease spread to the ranches.

The disease was first found in backyard flocks in Los Angeles County on Oct. 1. Since then, the disease has spread to six Southern California counties and into Nevada and Arizona.

San Bernardino County leads all other counties with 779 infected sites. More than 2 million birds have been destroyed and more than 1,500 state and federal workers are fighting the disease. Symptoms of the disease, which is fatal to birds, include respiratory and digestive system problems.

Santa Rosa Press Democrat, CA

County launches fight against chicken disease

Poultry farmers, agriculture officials cancel shows, institute rigorous screening to battle deadly virus
February 11, 2003

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/11chicken_b1.html

By TIM TESCONI
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A disease that has forced the killing of millions of chickens in Southern California is threatening Sonoma County's $50 million poultry industry and has required breeders to take unprecedented measures to protect local flocks.

All poultry shows at state and local fairs are canceled for the year. Commercial chicken producers have locked out unauthorized personnel and are sanitizing not only workers, but trucks coming and going from poultry farms.

And agricultural officials are assembling survey teams to canvass Sonoma County to determine if the deadly poultry-killing virus has already infected small flocks in back yards from Petaluma to Cloverdale.

The culprit is exotic Newcastle disease, a highly contagious disease that affects all species of birds. Although harmless to humans, the disease is nearly always fatal to infected chickens.

For now, Sonoma County's commercial poultry operations remain free of the disease.

"We have biosecurity upon biosecurity upon biosecurity, and we're still looking at ways to make our ranches and egg processing plant even more secure," said Arnie Riebli, co-owner of Santa Rosa Egg Farms in Petaluma.

Poultry ranchers like Riebli have reason for concern. The Newcastle outbreak is the worst in more than 30 years, with nearly 2 million chickens in Southern California already destroyed or scheduled to be killed to contain the disease's spread. The government has 1,600 people working in Southern California to eradicate exotic Newcastle.

The disease outbreak, believed caused by smuggled caged birds purchased at a Los Angeles swap meet, has spread from Los Angeles County, infecting chickens in San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties. The goal is to keep the disease from spreading into the Central Valley, a center for the state's poultry production, and north to Sonoma County.

Canada, Mexico and China have banned poultry and poultry products from California because of the disease outbreak. The European Union also has banned all U.S. poultry and egg products, a move that has affected Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms in Sonoma.

State of emergency

The federal Department of Agriculture has quarantined all of Southern California and parts of Nevada and declared a state of emergency because of the threat to the state's $3 billion poultry industry.

Because of Sonoma County's significant poultry production, the USDA is planning a door-to-door survey in rural areas of the county to determine if backyard flocks are infected.

State agricultural officials have suspended poultry shows at all fairs this year, including the Sonoma County Fair, Sonoma-Marin Fair and California State Fair.

"Anything with feathers won't be allowed on the Sonoma County Fairgrounds," said Sheila Quince, the fair's entry supervisor.

Poultry breeders like Walt Leonard, 64, of Santa Rosa worry that years of breeding -- and unique strains of rare chicken breeds and other fowl -- would be destroyed if the disease is found in Sonoma County. The government would kill large numbers of birds to eradicate the disease.

"I could never replace the strains of chickens I have developed during my 28 years breeding poultry. They have a unique genetic imprint that have made them national champions," said Leonard, a poultry breeding hobbyist who is the director of general services at Sonoma State University.

Sketchy details

Sonoma County agricultural commissioner John Westoby, in cooperation with the USDA, is putting together a survey team to fan through rural areas checking on backyard birds, everything from laying hens to game birds and geese to turkeys. The owners would be asked if they have any sick or dying birds. Blood and fecal samples could be taken.

"Exotic Newcastle disease is not known to be in Sonoma County and we hope to prove that it's not here," Westoby said.

Details of the poultry survey are sketchy because the USDA is still developing the format and funding, which could cost $1 million in Sonoma County. Westoby said up to 17 people could be used for the survey, which could start in a month and take from 3 months to a year to complete.

The last major outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease was in 1971 in Southern California. It took three years to eradicate, costing $56 million and the destruction of 12 million chickens.

Poultry breeders and chicken ranchers are avoiding contact with other poultry producers, fearing contamination. The virus can be picked up on shoes and clothing and carried from an infected flock to a healthy one.

Fighting roosters

Poultry industry leaders like Riebli worry that Exotic Newcastle is being spread by the illegal fighting cocks that some people use for entertainment and gambling. The fighting cocks, an underground, illegal activity, are bred and fought throughout the state, including Sonoma County.

"We can't control our borders so how are we going to catch some guy with a couple of fighting roosters in his back seat going to a cock fight," said Riebli.

The outbreak also is impacting 4-H club members who breed and raise chickens, ducks and geese as projects for shows and fairs.

"It's disappointing that there won't be a poultry show but I totally understand that we need to stop this spread of this disease," said 15-year-old Mark Ryan, a Sebastopol 4-H member who had best of show in poultry at last year's Sonoma County Fair.

You can reach Staff Writer Tim Tesconi at 521-5289 or ttesconi@pressdemocrat.com.

Greenley Tribune, CO

Article Published February 11, 2003
Officers find alleged cockfighting operations

Story by Jennifer Stanley

http://www.greeleytrib.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=GR&Date=20030211&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=302110004&Ref=AR

Bird disease

Assistant State Veterinarian Dr. John Maulsby said cockfighting raises concerns about Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has been found in California, Nevada and Arizona. Exotic Newcastle is a virus that affects birds’ respiratory, nervous and digestive systems and is usually deadly. Birds can die without any sign of the disease. “We don’t want it brought in by someone transporting chickens,” Maulsby said. “We’d really like to get the word out to anyone involved with birds in general. If anyone is in those areas, we’re worried about them bringing the disease here.”

More than 100 roosters were destroyed after police uncovered two suspected animal fighting operations in Weld County, according to court records and police.

On Monday, Manuel Garcia, 33, of Fort Lupton was charged with animal fighting, a felony, but he had not been arrested, according to court documents.

A Weld County zoning officer contacted the sheriff’s office Jan. 11 to report what she suspected were

chickens being raised to fight. The officer was at 7932 Hart St. to inspect the property. She told a deputy she saw chickens with the combs cut off their heads, according to a police affidavit.

A deputy visited the property, which contains a mobile home with an attached garage. On the north side is a 8-foot-tall wooden privacy fence.

The deputy went up several stairs to the front door and found that no one was home. From the steps, he could see over the fence and saw chickens running loose and others in individual cages.

A neighbor told the deputy it was common knowledge that her neighbor raises chickens for cockfighting, according to the affidavit.

When deputies searched the property, they found 87 roosters that they determined were being raised for fighting. Those roosters were photographed and destroyed, which is required under Colorado law.

Deputies also found equipment used for animal fighting and a power bill identifying Garcia as the resident. Garcia’s mother and brother confirmed that Garcia owned the birds, according to the affidavit.

In a separate incident, deputies were called to a home in Eaton on Jan. 16, according to Undersheriff Margie Martinez. There, 11 roosters were discovered; it is suspected they were being used in cockfighting.

As of Monday, no one had been charged with a crime.

The sheriff’s office would not release any more information.

Kansas City Star, MO

Disease alert

Posted on Tue, Feb. 11, 2003

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/5150112.htm

Missouri officials are urging poultry producers and pet dealers and owners to avoid bringing live birds from California and Nevada into the state.

The request is in response to the spread of Exotic Newcastle disease, a highly contagious and fatal viral ailment that affects all species of birds. It is not a threat to humans.

State Veterinarian Taylor Woods said evidence had surfaced that the virus had spread from California to Nevada.

Exotic Newcastle is one of the most infectious diseases of poultry in the world, Woods said. It could have a tremendous effect on Missouri's $836 million poultry and egg industry.

"It has the potential to wipe out our entire industry," he said.

Tyson Foods Inc., Willow Brook Foods and Cargill Inc. are among the leading poultry producers in Missouri. The state ranks fourth in turkey production, 14th in egg production and 15th in chicken production.

Producers or veterinarians who notice signs of the disease in their flocks should call the department's animal health division at 1-(573) 751-3377.

CFBF

FOOD & FARM NEWS

(Issue date: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 )

http://www.cfbf.com/ffn/default.asp#h2

Poultry ailment reaches eighth flock

Another commercial poultry flock has been diagnosed with exotic Newcastle disease, within the Southern California quarantine zone. Officials say a flock of egg-laying chickens in San Bernardino County has been infected with the disease, which kills birds but does not harm people. Eight commercial flocks and thousands of backyard birds have contracted the disease, and more than two million birds have been destroyed.

Fighting cocks may carry disease

It's been illegal in California for 98 years, but officials say cockfighting may be one way by which exotic Newcastle disease is being spread. Poultry industry officials say the illegal fighting birds are moved without regard to quarantines, and are not taken to veterinarians or vaccinated. Cockfighting played a role in the spread of exotic Newcastle disease in California's last outbreak during the 1970s.

The Moscow Times, Russia

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/02/10/044.html

Monday, Feb. 10, 2003. Page 6

U.S. Poultry Farms Hit From All Sides

By Emily Gersema

The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- As the U.S. poultry industry struggles to stabilize trade relations with Russia, it faces new troubles from a bird disease spreading eastward from California.

The problems are "hitting us from every direction right now," said Jim Sumner, president of the U.S.A. Poultry and Egg Export Council.

The bird virus, Exotic Newcastle disease, was first found in California in October and since has spread to Nevada and Arizona in the southern United States.

The disease poses no threat to humans, but it is highly contagious among chickens, usually paralyzing and killing them.

Russia, Canada and Mexico have all placed bans on poultry and egg imports from the three infected states.

The southwest does not produce a lot of poultry, so the economic damage has been minimal, Sumner said. But he added that businesses worry the disease will spread and infect broiler chickens in leading poultry states such as Georgia and Maryland.

The illness spreads among flocks through droppings, breath and eggs. Humans can carry the virus on their shoes and clothes. U.S. Agriculture Department officials have set up a task force of state and federal officials to control the spread of the disease. So far, 1.8 million chickens have been killed in the effort.

Trade issues, however, are posing a greater concern.

U.S. poultry producers had $800 million in losses last year because of trade trouble with Russia and could lose at least $2 billion this year unless the situation is resolved.

The industry used to send 40 percent of its exports to Russia, but Sumner said it has dropped to 30 percent since 2001 because of the embargo and concerns over food safety.

Before the dispute, U.S. producers in 38 states sent $600 million to $700 million worth of poultry to Russia each year, making chicken the largest U.S. export to Russia.

U.S. and Russian officials have met regularly since the fall to reach a compromise over plant safety standards that Russia is demanding of U.S. companies. If an American plant fails to meet the standards, the Russians will not grant it a veterinary certificate allowing its exports.

In November, Russian inspectors checked 76 U.S. poultry plants and then stopped after finding more than a dozen did not meet their standards.

One Russian standard would require U.S. plants to add walls separating slaughtering from processing operations.

"We have decided that we want to finalize the inspection requirements before we bring them back over here to continue the inspections because there were too many differences in the criteria," Sumner said. "They have one philosophy and we have another philosophy."

Sergei Strokov, agricultural counselor for the Russian Embassy in Washington, said there are some slight differences but "nothing extraordinary" in safety laws, including testing requirements for harmful bacteria such as salmonella and listeria. "All American companies can easily meet them. It's just a matter of time and preparation," he said. "That's why we think all companies who would really like to export to Russia after some preparation would be easily certified for that."

U.S. companies have until the end of May to comply with Russian requirements.

Sumner said he believes the issue will be resolved by then. Russia also is proposing to set an annual quota of 535,000 tons for the United States, which would begin May 1.

"It's actually a very low limitation compared to our trade last year," Strokov said, referring to Russia's embargo on U.S. poultry.

Russia may be trying to aid its own poultry companies by setting up barriers for exporters, but its plants do not have the capability to meet demand, said Jacinto Fabiosa, a poultry analyst at the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

The Press-Enterprise, CA

Newcastle hurting FFA, 4-H members
INLAND: The poultry disease halts exhibits and curbs youths' ability to recoup their money.

02/10/2003

By SANDRA STOKLEY
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_NEWS_naffa10.ef5c.html

For four months in 2002 Jurupa Valley High FFA member David Summers monitored the progress of his 25 laying hens.

In two thick, three-ring binders, he meticulously tracked the birds' growth, weight, health, food intake and, finally, their egg production.

Then it came time in October for David to compete against his peers at the Farmers Fair in Perris.

And the 16-year-old sophomore from Pedley came up against an insurmountable obstacle: Southern California's exotic Newcastle disease epidemic.

Because of a five-county quarantine that bans the movement of all types of birds, live poultry competitions at Southern California fairs and exhibits have been canceled.

Because of the cancellations, hundreds of Inland FFA and 4-H members, who began their poultry projects months before the disease was detected in September, have been left with no way to recover their investments of money and time. Prize money is an important source; some students also sell their birds, especially turkeys.

"It's frustrating," said David, who has feed bills of $80 to $90 a month. "For egg production contests, you have to have the hens for quite a long period of time to give them time to start laying. You spend a lot of money and now we're not getting it back."

The quarantine imposed by state agriculture officials is part of the strategy to keep the virulent killer of chickens and other birds at bay. So far, 1.7 million commercial chickens and 85,784 backyard birds have been euthanized in Southern California.

Business experience

Although losing money may be a painful and costly experience, it's a valuable lesson in the often rough-and-tumble world of modern agribusiness, FFA advisers say.

Instead of having live competitions, fair organizers had contestants submit records of their projects. Summers won $700 but he still came up $200 short of his $900 investment.

"The purpose of any FFA project is to give students real-life experience in the world of agriculture," said Flint Freeman, coordinator for agricultural education at Cal Poly Pomona.

"The lesson of the epidemic is that a kid that has 50 chickens in his backyard is facing the same challenges as the farmer that has 50,000 chickens," Freeman said. "Things don't always work out. Those are valuable life lessons."

Kris Callison, FFA adviser at Yucaipa High School, agreed.

"It wakes students up to how serious the disease can be," Callison said. "It affects not just the big breeders, but the small breeders like them. It's really hit home for them."

Callison has 120 students in FFA with 20 involved in poultry projects.

New ways to compete

Freeman said fair organizers are considering alternative poultry competitions, which will give students the opportunity to vie for prize money while still adhering to the quarantine.

Using photos to judge poultry is one possible method, although Freeman said some doubt has been raised about its validity.

"It would be like judging the Miss America contest using pictures," Freeman said. "We're not sure it could be done."

The Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival, which is coming up next weekend, has canceled all of its live poultry events, including its signature ostrich races, but will go on with its "showmanship" competition, said livestock superintendent Harold Hilliker.

In showmanship, a student catches the bird and shows it to its best advantage, much like handlers at dog shows. However this year, students will use life-size chicken "puppets" to show off their handling skills.

David said that whatever methods fair organizers come up with, it can't replace the value and excitement of live competition using real birds.

"Competing helps you learn more about your animal. If you're feeding them right, exercising them enough," he said.

Although he won $700, David said he missed not being able to examine other birds and comparing notes with other contestants.

"I'd like to see what the other birds looked like," he said. "I missed not being able to talk to other students about what feed mix they use and water systems they use. It just wasn't the same."

Reach Sandra Stokley at (909) 368-9647 or sstokley@pe.com

Los Angeles Daily News, CA, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA

Article Last Updated: Saturday, February 08, 2003 - 9:53:20 PM MST

Chicken disease hurting industry

By Emily Gersema
Associated Press

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~1167655,00.html
http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~26127~1167466,00.html

WASHINGTON -- As the U.S. poultry industry struggles to stabilize trade relations with Russia, it faces new troubles from a bird disease spreading eastward from California.

The problems are "hitting us from every direction right now," said Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.

The bird virus, Exotic Newcastle disease, was first found in California in October and has since spread to Nevada and Arizona. The disease poses no threat to humans, but it is highly contagious among chickens, usually paralyzing and killing them. Russia, Canada and Mexico have all placed bans on poultry and egg imports from the three infected states.

Agriculture Department officials have set up a task force of state and federal officials to control the spread of the disease. So far, 1.8 million chickens have been killed.

Gov. Gray Davis and the federal Department of Agriculture have declared states of emergency across Southern California and expanded a quarantine zone. The state banned bird shows in eight quarantined counties and has urged operators of 80 state fairs to eliminate live bird contests.

The upcoming National Date Festival in Indio has canceled the popular ostrich races, while youngsters competing in showmanship at the Riverside County Fair are using lifelike rooster puppets to demonstrate their poultry-handling abilities.

While the disease is a threat to California's $3 billion-a-year poultry industry, the Southwest as a whole does not produce a lot of poultry, and Sumner said overall economic damage has been minimal. But he added that businesses worry the disease will spread and infect broiler chickens in leading poultry states such as Georgia and Maryland.

The illness spreads among flocks through droppings, breath and eggs. Humans can carry the virus on their shoes and clothes.

Trade issues, however, are posing a greater concern. American poultry producers had $800 million in losses last year because of trade trouble with Russia and could lose at least $2 billion this year unless the situation is resolved.

The industry used to send 40 percent of its exports to Russia, but Sumner said it has dropped to 30 percent since 2001 because of the embargo and concerns over food safety. Before the dispute, U.S. producers in 38 states sent $600 million to $700 million worth of poultry to Russia each year, making chicken the largest U.S. export to Russia.

U.S. and Russian officials have met regularly since the fall to reach a compromise over plant safety standards that Russia is demanding of U.S. companies. If an American plant fails to meet the standards, the Russians will not grant it a veterinary certificate allowing its exports.

Like the United States, Russia has its own processing and food safety laws intended to keep poultry products and plants clean. In November, Russian inspectors checked 76 U.S. poultry plants and then stopped after finding more than a dozen did not meet their standards.

One Russian standard would require U.S. plants to add walls separating slaughtering from processing operations.

"We have decided that we want to finalize the inspection requirements before we bring them back over here to continue the inspections because there were too many differences in the criteria," Sumner said. "They have one philosophy, and we have another philosophy."

Sergei Strokov, agricultural counselor for the Russian Embassy in Washington, said there are some slight differences but "nothing extraordinary" in safety laws, including testing requirements for harmful bacteria such as salmonella and listeria.

"All American companies can easily meet them; it's just a matter of time and preparation," Strokov said. "That's why we think all companies who would really like to export to Russia after some preparation would be easily certified for that."

U.S. companies have until the end of May to comply with Russian requirements. Sumner said he believes the issue will be resolved by then.

Russia also is proposing to set an annual quota of 535,000 tons for the United States, which would begin May 1.

"It's actually a very low limitation compared to our trade last year," Strokov said, referring to Russia's embargo on U.S. poultry.

Russia may be trying to aid its own poultry companies by setting up barriers for exporters, but its plants do not have the capability to meet demand, said Jacinto Fabiosa, a poultry analyst at the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

Russia produced 500,000 metric tons of poultry in 2002 and imported 1.2 million tons.

Moscow could suffer a backlash from setting quotas because it is waiting to become a member of the World Trade Organization, Fabiosa noted.

"They will have to walk a very tight rope," he said.

Aberdeen American News, SD, Billings Gazette, MT

Russia wary of sick poultry
Associated Press - Similar Stories

February 9, 2003

Last modified February 9, 2003 - 3:22 am

http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/5142609.htm
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/02/09/build/business/farm-poultry.inc

Posted on Sun, Feb. 09, 2003

Bird virus troubles struggling industry
Poultry producers fear disease, Russia trade problems
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON - As the U.S. poultry industry struggles to stabilize trade relations with Russia, it faces new troubles from a bird disease spreading eastward from California.

The problems are ''hitting us from every direction right now,'' said Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.

The bird virus, Exotic Newcastle disease, was first found in California in October and since has spread to Nevada and Arizona. The disease poses no threat to humans, but it is highly contagious among chickens, usually paralyzing and killing them. Russia, Canada and Mexico have all placed bans on poultry and egg imports from the three infected states.

The Southwest does not produce a lot of poultry, so the economic damage has been minimal, Sumner said. But he added that businesses worry the disease will spread and infect broiler chickens in leading poultry states such as Georgia and Maryland.

The illness spreads among flocks through droppings, breath and eggs. Humans can carry the virus on their shoes and clothes.

North Dakota officials are keeping an eye on the spread of the disease, even though the state has very little commercial poultry production, State Veterinarian Larry Schuler said.

''There is some concern . . . that the disease could continue to spread and eventually affect pet birds and wildlife,'' he said.

Federal Agriculture Department officials have set up a task force of state and federal officials to control the spread of the disease. So far, 1.8 million chickens have been killed in the effort.

Trade issues, however, are posing a greater concern. American poultry producers had $800 million in losses last year because of trade trouble with Russia and could lose at $2 billion this year unless the situation is resolved.

The industry used to send 40 percent of its exports to Russia, but Sumner said it has dropped to 30 percent since 2001 because of the embargo and concerns over food safety. Before the dispute, U.S. producers in 38 states sent $600 million to $700 million worth of poultry to Russia each year, making chicken the largest U.S. export to Russia.

U.S. and Russian officials have met regularly since the fall to reach a compromise over plant safety standards that Russia is demanding of U.S. companies. If an American plant fails to meet the standards, the Russians will not grant it a veterinary certificate allowing its exports.

Like the United States, Russia has its own processing and food safety laws intended to keep poultry products and plants clean. In November, Russian inspectors checked 76 U.S. poultry plants and then stopped after finding more than a dozen did not meet their standards.

One Russian standard would require U.S. plants to add walls separating slaughtering from processing operations.

''We have decided that we want to finalize the inspection requirements before we bring them back over here to continue the inspections because there were too many differences in the criteria,'' Sumner said. ''They have one philosophy and we have another philosophy.''

Modesto Bee, CA

Fighting roosters spreading disease?

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/6130728p-7083314c.html

California's chicken egg-laying industry has been hit hard by Newcastle disease.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

By RICHARD T. ESTRADA
BEE STAFF WRITER

The moment the roosters are released, they flap their wings wildly and attack. With sharpened razors tied to their claws, the well-trained birds slash into each other, sending blood spurting.

Such fights don't end until one bird is too weak to go on. It usually dies and is tossed into a hole, joining the day's other losers.

Merced County is a popular spot for the battles, and officials are concerned that an outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease could result.

The state's $3.2 billion poultry industry says cockfighting has played a role in spreading the disease, which has led to the deaths of more than 2 million chickens in California.

"The fighting birds are moved around the state without regard to quarantines," said Bill Mattos, president of the Modesto-based California Poultry Federation. "They don't go to veterinarians. They're not vacci-nated."

That concern is echoed by the state Department of Food and Agriculture and valley law enforcement, which say cockfighting is growing in popularity despite being illegal since 1905.

"We've done several seizures at cockfights and found sick birds," said Frank Swiggart a detective with the Merced County Sheriff's Department. "When we've had them checked, it turns out they're carrying diseases."

That worries officials because Merced County is home to Foster Farms Poultry. The Livingston-based company produces more than 90 percent of California's chicken meat.

Newcastle hasn't been found in the valley, but officials say it only takes one bird to bring it in.

Spread is rapid

Newcastle doesn't only kill the birds it infects; it forces the destruction of any birds in the vicinity. The disease spreads rapidly and can infect an entire barn before the first bird shows any sign of sickness.

Newcastle and cockfighting have been hot topics in the valley's agricultural community since the first case was confirmed in October, in six backyard flocks in Los Angeles.

Some of those flocks had hens for laying eggs, state ag officials said. Other flocks had roosters, the type used for cockfighting.

Officials believe cockfighting is one reason Newcastle spread swiftly in Southern California, despite a quarantine. It was recently found in backyard flocks in Nevada and Arizona.

Ag inspectors have yet to identify how Newcastle was brought to those out-of-state flocks, but law enforcement has an idea.

"We'll raid a fight in Merced County and find people from Nevada, New Mexico, Mexico, Arizona and Southern California," Swiggart said. "They bring birds to fight and take the survivors home. Dead ones are left here."

The roosters could bring Newcastle with them, Mattos said, or could be infected by another bird and carry the disease home.

A highly contagious, virulent disease, Newcastle is harmless to humans but a death sentence to poultry, including chickens, turkeys, squab and game birds.

"It could be devastating for the poultry industry if Newcastle was found in the valley," Mattos said. "Foster Farms alone has about 14,000 employees. The economic damage created by an illegal cockfight could be terrible."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses commercial producers for the value of their birds, but there is no compensation for sales lost when foreign markets ban California poultry.

While it's illegal to raise roosters for fighting, it can be difficult to prove that's what the birds will be used for, Swiggart said.

"These guys have two to 400 roosters, on the pretext of raising show birds," Swiggart said. "They're tied to stakes, in the open, and go through a training regimen to make them fighters."

It's also illegal to watch or take part in a cockfight, as well as to possess the artificial spurs -- called gaffs and slashers -- the birds use to attack each other.

Trainers disregard law

That hasn't stopped the activity, however. Swiggart noted that Delhi, Winton and other rural areas of Merced County are well known for fighting cocks.

Cockfighting played a role in the spread of Newcastle in 1971. An outbreak led to the deaths of 12 million chickens in California, and the government spent $56 million eradicating the disease.

In Southern California, the eight-county region is under quarantine, prohibiting poultry from leaving the area.

Since cockfighting is illegal, poultry officials and law enforcement don't expect their trainers to follow the law.

"Fighting cocks pose the greatest problem because they move from one place to another and can carry the disease," Mattos said. "They're not going to announce they're taking a bird into the next state for a cockfight."

Bee staff writer Richard T. Estrada can be reached at 578-2316 or restrada@modbee.com.

DEADLY TRAIL OF EXOTIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE

Exotic Newcastle disease is a virus that has led to the slaughter of more than 2 million chickens in California and has spread to Nevada and Arizona.

OCT. 1 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirms exotic Newcastle disease in six backyard poultry flocks -- 3,000 birds -- in Los Angeles.

OCT. 3 -- The USDA quarantines Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties and kills infected flocks.

OCT. 15 -- The European Union and Mexico ban imports of live birds and many poultry products from California.

DEC. 21 -- An outbreak is confirmed in a commercial flock in Riverside County, leading to the eradication of 100,000 egg-laying chickens.

DEC. 30 -- The disease continues to spread, and the death count tops 1 million birds.

JAN. 1 -- The quarantine expands to San Diego and Orange counties after two commercial flocks are diagnosed and their birds are slaughtered.

JAN. 2 -- Canada bans shipments of California poultry.

JAN. 8 -- Gov. Davis declares a state of emergency in Southern California. A federal and state task force will receive $40 million from the federal Commodity Credit Corp. to help eradicate the disease.

JAN. 10 -- The quarantine zone grows to include Imperial, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, meaning all of Southern California is under restrictions.

JAN. 15 -- The disease is confirmed in a flock near Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, leading to a regional quarantine.

JAN. 16 -- The death count since the disease was discovered hits 1.7 million birds.

JAN. 17 -- The California Department of Food and Agriculture requests that county fairs cancel poultry shows. Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties quickly agree, followed by most other county fair boards.

JAN. 21 -- Brazil becomes the latest major market to ban California poultry. China, Argentina, Taiwan and Korea are among others with bans.

JAN. 24 -- In Riverside County, 250,000 laying hens are destroyed when the disease hits an egg farm.

FEB. 1 -- The death count exceeds 2 million birds.

FEB. 4 -- The disease is confirmed in a backyard flock on the Colorado Indian Reservation in western Arizona, leading to a regional quarantine.

FEB. 5 -- A commercial flock of 110,000 birds in Riverside County is infected, the seventh such flock with the disease.

FEB. 6 -- A second case is reported in Arizona, among backyard birds near the site of that state's first infected flock.

Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture, California Department of Agriculture

California Farm Bureau Federation

Posted: February 8, 2003 @ 05:50:09 AM PST

Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL

Poultry industry struggling with Russian trade, California disease

By EMILY GERSEMA
Associated Press Writer

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20030208&Category=APN&ArtNo=302080723&Ref=AR

As the U.S. poultry industry struggles to stabilize trade relations with Russia, it faces new troubles from a bird disease spreading eastward from California.

The problems are "hitting us from every direction right now," said Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.

The bird virus, Exotic Newcastle disease, was first found in California in October and since has spread to Nevada and Arizona. The disease poses no threat to humans, but it is highly contagious among chickens, usually paralyzing and killing them. Russia, Canada and Mexico have all placed bans on poultry and egg imports from the three infected states.

Agriculture Department officials have set up a task force of state and federal officials to control the spread of the disease. So far, 1.8 million chickens have been killed.

Gov. Gray Davis and the federal Department of Agriculture have declared states of emergency across Southern California and expanded a quarantine zone. The state banned bird shows in eight quarantined counties and has urged operators of 80 state fairs to eliminate live bird contests.

The upcoming National Date Festival in Indio has canceled the popular ostrich races, while youngsters competing in showmanship at the Riverside County Fair are using lifelike rooster puppets to demonstrate their poultry-handling abilities.

While the disease is a threat to California's $3 billion-a-year poultry industry, the Southwest as a whole does not produce a lot of poultry, and Sumner said overall economic damage has been minimal. But he added that businesses worry the disease will spread and infect broiler chickens in leading poultry states such as Georgia and Maryland.

The illness spreads among flocks through droppings, breath and eggs. Humans can carry the virus on their shoes and clothes.

Trade issues, however, are posing a greater concern. American poultry producers had $800 million in losses last year because of trade trouble with Russia and could lose at $2 billion this year unless the situation is resolved.

The industry used to send 40 percent of its exports to Russia, but Sumner said it has dropped to 30 percent since 2001 because of the embargo and concerns over food safety. Before the dispute, U.S. producers in 38 states sent $600 million to $700 million worth of poultry to Russia each year, making chicken the largest U.S. export to Russia.

U.S. and Russian officials have met regularly since the fall to reach a compromise over plant safety standards that Russia is demanding of U.S. companies. If an American plant fails to meet the standards, the Russians will not grant it a veterinary certificate allowing its exports.

Like the United States, Russia has its own processing and food safety laws intended to keep poultry products and plants clean. In November, Russian inspectors checked 76 U.S. poultry plants and then stopped after finding more than a dozen did not meet their standards.

One Russian standard would require U.S. plants to add walls separating slaughtering from processing operations.

"We have decided that we want to finalize the inspection requirements before we bring them back over here to continue the inspections because there were too many differences in the criteria," Sumner said. "They have one philosophy and we have another philosophy."

Sergei Strokov, agricultural counselor for the Russian Embassy in Washington, said there are some slight differences but "nothing extraordinary" in safety laws, including testing requirements for harmful bacteria such as salmonella and listeria.

"All American companies can easily meet them. It's just a matter of time and preparation," Strokov said. "That's why we think all companies who would really like to export to Russia after some preparation would be easily certified for that."

U.S. companies have until the end of May to comply with Russian requirements. Sumner said he believes the issue will be resolved by then.

Russia also is proposing to set an annual quota of 535,000 tons for the United States, which would begin May 1.

"It's actually a very low limitation compared to our trade last year," Strokov said, referring to Russia's embargo on U.S. poultry.

Russia may be trying to aid its own poultry companies by setting up barriers for exporters, but its plants do not have the capability to meet demand, said Jacinto Fabiosa, a poultry analyst at the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

Russia produced 500,000 metric tons of poultry in 2002 and imported 1.2 million tons.

Moscow could suffer a backlash from setting quotas because it is waiting to become a member of the World Trade Organization, Fabiosa noted.

"They will have to walk a very tight rope," he said.

CFBF

FOOD & FARM NEWS
(Issue date: Monday, February 10, 2003 )

http://www.cfbf.com/ffn/default.asp#h2

Cost mounts for Newcastle battle

The cost of fighting a deadly poultry disease in Southern California has reached $35 million dollars. Officials at the exotic Newcastle disease task force say an outbreak in the mid-1970s cost the equivalent of $239 million dollars to eradicate. Inspectors continue searching the quarantined counties for infected birds. The disease is highly contagious among birds, but does not affect humans.

The Press-Enterprise, CA

Puppets to replace poultry at fair
NEWCASTLE DISEASE: Faux chickens will be used in the Riverside County showmanship event.

02/08/2003

By MICHAEL FISHER
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_NEWS_nchick08.a1788.html

Rocky the Rooster is out of cluck, replaced by a poultry puppet.

The Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival has banned birds from next weekend's event and canceled its traditional live poultry contests due to the outbreak of deadly exotic Newcastle disease, a highly contagious virus.

But the fair will be the first in the state to hold poultry showmanship competitions using lifelike puppets, an idea hatched by a San Diego County 4-H'er.

The plan is not flying with Rocky's owner, 16-year-old Cindy Switzer of Nuevo, who spent years raising her birds.

"That's just weird," said Switzer, a member of FFA at Perris High School. "I was planning on showing one show turkey and three show chickens . . . I'm very disappointed."

A state directive barring birds at fairs also forced Date Festival organizers to cancel the popular ostrich races, another decades-old staple at the 57-year-old fair. The Indio festival runs Friday through Feb. 23.

Instead, this year's racers will ride galloping water buffaloes, said Kimberly Freedman, the fair's marketing specialist.

"We are planning on having the ostrich back next year if the quarantine is lifted," Freedman said. "I hope that they find this just as entertaining."

Protecting from Newcastle

Authorities have euthanized about 1.8 million commercial birds exposed to the disease since the virus was detected in Southern California in October.

Harold Hilliker, the fair's livestock superintendent, said permitting FFA, 4-H and other clubs to bring backyard birds to the fair could prove disastrous in the spread of the virus.

"Everyone shakes their head and says this is absolutely right and goes on," Hilliker said of the decision to cancel the live poultry events.

But the show will go on at Saturday's showmanship competition. About a dozen children and teenagers will use hen and rooster puppets to show their knowledge of poultry by answering judges' questions and presenting the lifelike toys as if they were real.

Typically, there are about 30 to 40 participants in the event, Hilliker said.

"They'll spread the wings, show the head. They'll do as much as they can do with what they have to work with," said Hilliker, who is borrowing several puppets from Kristina Byrne, the small-animal advisory chairman for the 4-H Club of San Diego County.

Worried that the disease would force fairs to exclude children who raised poultry, Byrne scoured the Internet for suitable faux fowl before she found Folkmanis Puppets of Emeryville.

The company makes realistic wildlife toys, including a hen and a rooster that fit Byrne's bill. The puppets are about the right size and have needed body parts such as combs and wings that lift, she said.

"It's a good alternative," Byrne said, adding that young competitors will be able to show their expertise without having to hold a squirmy bird.

Embracing the change

Nevertheless, Byrne didn't expect everyone to embrace the puppet idea.

"I'm sure there are some teenagers who wouldn't be caught dead holding a puppet," she said.

Amy Murashima, a 16-year-old member of Desert Sandblasters 4-H Club in Indio, signed up for the showmanship contest. She is curious how the event will be different with counterfeit chickens.

"I think it's going to be fun," Murashima said.

Folkmanis Puppets are frequently used as animal stand-ins in educational wildlife programs, said Elaine Kollias, the company's marketing director.

Kollias said she has never heard of the puppets being used at a county fair before.

"I'm not surprised. We try to make them as anatomically correct and true to life as possible," she said.

Chris Maddalena, agriculture instructor and FFA adviser at Perris High School has mixed feelings about the puppet idea.

"Whoever came up with this idea should be commended," Maddalena said. "But I don't raise puppets, I raise chickens."

Staff writer Sandra Stokley contributed to this report.

Reach Michael Fisher at (909) 368-9470 or mfisher@pe.com

CIDRAP

Exotic Newcastle disease spreads out of California

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/biosecurity/ag-biosec/news/newcast.html

Robert Roos
Staff Writer

Feb 7, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – Exotic Newcastle disease (END) has continued to spread through southern California poultry flocks and has spilled over into Nevada and Arizona in recent weeks, prompting emergency declarations in both states.

Almost 1.9 million birds in six southern California counties have been destroyed in the effort to stop the fatal and highly contagious disease, according to the latest figures from the END Task Force of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

In Arizona, Gov. Janet Napolitano declared an emergency this week after END turned up on a farm near Poston, on the Colorado River Indian Tribes' reservation near the California line. The farmer reported that about 30 chickens had died suddenly, the Associated Press reported. The emergency declaration, issued Feb 5, bars the transport of poultry into the state without a health certificate and also requires disinfection of any poultry-related equipment brought in from END-affected areas.

In mid-January, the disease was found in a backyard poultry flock in Las Vegas, which triggered a ban on the movement and sale of all birds and poultry in southern Nevada (Clark County and part of Nye County), according to the Nevada Department of Agriculture. The discovery also led the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to declare a state of "extraordinary emergency" in Nevada as of Jan 17, permitting the department to take special measures to stop the disease, according to a Jan 24 notice in the Federal Register.

Slightly more than 1.8 million birds on six poultry farms in California have been slaughtered in the battle against END to date, according to the state END Task Force. In addition, more than 89,000 birds in 1,580 backyard flocks in the state have been killed. Another 1,670 birds in 96 backyard flocks have been slaughtered in Nevada, and one flock of 50 birds has been destroyed in Arizona, the task force reported.

All birds in flocks where there have been END cases or exposure to the disease are being destroyed, according to the task force. The owners are being paid the fair market value for the slaughtered birds, and the affected sites are being cleaned and disinfected. A total of 1,710 people are working on controlling the outbreak in the three affected states as of today, the task force reported.

Eight California counties are under a quarantine that bans the transport of birds or bird products out of the counties without a USDA permit. The disease has been confirmed in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties; Imperial and Santa Barbara counties were included in the quarantine to create a buffer zone, according to the CDFA.

The END outbreak was first detected in backyard poultry flocks in Los Angeles County on Oct 1, 2002. The disease affects most bird species and can be almost 100% fatal in unvaccinated poultry, according to the USDA. In 1971, an END outbreak in California led to the slaughter of almost 12 million birds, hurt many poultry producers, and increased the prices of poultry products, according to the CDFA.

Health authorities say END poses no threat to public health and does not affect the safety of poultry or eggs. A news release from the Arizona governor's office this week said that people who handle infected birds can get a mild inflammation of tissues surrounding the eye, but the disease is not a serious risk to human health.

See also:

California Department of Food and Agriculture END page
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/ah/Newcastle_info.htm

USDA Federal Register notice of emergency declaration in Nevada
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/ah/END_TEST/pdfs/03-1610_FedRegister.pdf

Emergency declaration by Arizona governor
http://agriculture.state.az.us/02pressreleases/poultry%20virus.pdf

Pahrump Valley Times, NV

Task force gains ground on deadly bird disease

By:By HENRY BREAN, Managing Editor February 07, 2003

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1125&dept_id=99545&newsid=6975533&PAG=461&rfi=9

Disease: Officials optimistic about containment

It is the same virus that has triggered a fed-eral quarantine throughout Southern California, the same vi-rus that prompted an embargo of U.S. poultry products throughout much of the world.

Now it appears officials are gaining ground against exotic Newcastle disease (END), at least in southern Nevada. On Tuesday, the Ne-vada Department of Ag-riculture eased restric-tions pet storeowners, allowing them, for the first time since mid January, to sell birds within the quarantine area.

"We have determined that there is a minimal risk of spreading exotic Newcastle disease from commercial pet stores," said State Veterinarian Dr. David Thain in a statement issued Tues-day. 'We're optimistic that our prompt re-sponse to the outbreak will enable us to contain the disease to a 14-square-mile area of Clark County."

Pet stores are still pro-hibited from selling chickens, turkeys, geese, pigeons and swans. Southern Nye County and all of Clark County remain under quaran-tine as a task force of federal, state and local agencies tries to contain an outbreak of the fatal bird disease in Las Ve-gas.

Lighted traffic signs on U.S. 95 at Highway 373 north of Amargosa Valley warn southbound motorists that they are headed into the quaran-tine area.

No cases have been found in Nye County, and, in hopes of keeping it that way, representa-tives from the task force held an informational meeting in Pahrump on Jan. 31. Before an audi-ence of about a dozen people, officials ex-plained that the disease poses no risk to people or other animals, but is usually fatal to most types of birds.

"It's a terrible disease of birds, especially poul-try," said Nolan Lemon of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Local residents were advised to watch their birds for signs of illness and abide by the quar-antine rules, which pro-hibits birds from being moved within the zone or transported out of it. They were also told to avoid places that might be infected and maintain a heightened level of hy-giene around bird enclo-sures.

According to Kim Mar-tin from the U.S. Forest Service, task force rep-resentatives were going door-to-door in Pahrump last week to spread the word about the disease and the steps being taken to contain it. A telephone conference call involving several Nye County veterinari-ans was also conducted, said Martin, who is serv-ing as incident com-mander for the task force in Nevada.

DNA tests have con-firmed that the recent outbreak in Las Vegas was caused by the same virus that has eight Cali-fornia counties under quarantine from the Mexico border to just north of Bakersfield, Lemon said.

The quarantined area in Nevada is now part of the federal quarantine zone that covers much of Southern California.

That is not likely to change anytime soon, said Dr. Don Evans, lead epidemiologist for the task force. He told the small crowd in Pahrump that the quarantine in Nevada would likely re-main in place for at least two months after the last infected flock was found. "That's the minimum."

While a domestic strain of Newcastle dis-ease does exist in the United States, and many commercial flocks are vaccinated against it, the exotic variety is not endemic. Evans said the vaccine can reduce the mortality rate "but it "won't prevent the spread" of exotic New-castle. "This is a pretty hot virus."

It can take two days to two months for infected birds to develop symp-toms, and it is not un-usual for birds to die be-fore they show any signs of being sick.

Using carbon dioxide gas, the task force is humanely destroying birds they believe have been exposed to the virus in Las Vegas. "Basically, (the birds) just go to sleep," said USDA's Carey Floyd.

As of Jan. 31, approxi-mately 1,535 birds at seven premises in Las Vegas had been culled. There is a program in place to compensate owners for any birds that might need to be de-stroyed, Martin said.

END cropped up in Southern California last fall, and on Christmas Eve it showed up in a commercial flock for the first time. Initially, many countries halted all im-ports of poultry products from the United States, but in most cases, those embargos now only in-clude poultry products from the Southwest, Lemon said.

This is not the first time END has hit Cali-fornia. An outbreak in 1971 took two years and roughly $50 million to clean up, Martin said. "And that's 1971 dollars."

For more information on exotic Newcastle dis-ease or to report any sick or dead birds, call the task force's toll-free hotline at 866-490-2991

©Pahrump Valley Times 2003

Las Vegas Sun, NV

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/feb/06/514626529.html

Today: February 06, 2003 at 10:21:10 PST

Correction

Because of an error by the Sun, a headline on a story about exotic Newcastle disease in birds in Clark and Nye counties mischaracterized eradication efforts. Authorities believe they have made progress in their effort to control the disease but note the outbreak may not be over as the disease has been confirmed in other parts of the Southwest. The Sun regrets the error.

Tucson citizen, AZ

La Paz gets quarantined to contain deadly bird virus
The Associated Press
Feb. 6, 2003

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/local/2_6_03poultry.html

PHOENIX - Federal and tribal authorities issued a quarantine yesterday for La Paz County to try to contain a deadly bird virus found in chickens from a western Arizona Indian reservation.

The quarantine issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Colorado River Indian Reservation will prohibit birds or items that have come in contact with the birds from leaving the county, said Lori Faeth, Gov. Janet Napolitano's natural resources adviser. The Arizona Department of Agriculture was expected to quarantine Yuma County and a portion of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon.

The measures were being put in place to try to prevent the spread of Exotic Newcastle disease, which is caused by a virus found in the droppings, breath and eggs of birds. An infected bird can pass the disease onto another bird just by being nearby. Birds also can be infected by contaminated clothing or shoes.

Napolitano declared a state of emergency Tuesday to try to contain the virus. Declaring the state of emergency prohibits the transport of live or dead birds from other states into Arizona. It also makes Arizona eligible to receive federal aid.

The disease poses no health risks for humans. It is still safe to eat poultry products from Arizona.

CNN

Thursday, February 6, 2003 Posted: 9:47 AM EST (1447 GMT)

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Southwest/02/06/bird.disease.ap/

PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- Federal and tribal authorities quarantined a county in western Arizona on Wednesday, one day after announcing that a deadly bird virus had been found on an Indian reservation there.

The order, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Colorado River Indian Reservation, will prohibit birds or items that have come in contact with the infected birds from leaving La Paz County, said Lori Faeth, the governor's natural resources adviser.

The USDA also was expected to quarantine neighboring Yuma County and a portion of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is caused by a virus found in the droppings, breath and eggs of birds, and is highly contagious. It poses no health risks for humans, but has led to the slaughter of 1.7 million chickens in Southern California and about 1,600 birds in Nevada.

Santa Cruz Sentinel, CA

Avian disease spreads to Arizona flocks
Poultry disease cancels fair exhibits
By BRIAN SEALS
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

Cock-a-doodle don’t.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2003/February/06/local/stories/05local.htm

Concerns about the possible spread of chicken-killing exotic Newcastle disease has forced County Fair officials to cancel all bird-related exhibits and shows this year.

"We are not having a poultry show," fair manager Judith Panick said this week, noting with sadness that the poultry barn has been a wildly popular, if not a little noisy, fair attraction.

That doesn’t mean all poultry shows or exhibits are kaput, however. Fair organizers are thinking up some way for kids who raise chickens or turkeys to participate — perhaps with a videotape project.

"We have to really scramble the next few weeks and decide what we are going to do with the poultry barn," said Terry Reeder, who has managed the poultry exhibit at the fair for about 20 years. "I still want the kids to be able to experience the learning of these projects."

Fifty to 60 people enter the contests each year, showing 250 to 300 birds.

Suspending them saddened some former entrants, though they weren’t crying foul.

"I got a grand champion Polish chicken and I can’t show it," said Angela Shaver, 10, who belongs to the Boulder Creek 4-H Club. "I also have turkeys."

Sarah’s mother said the 4-H group is now studying eggs and chicken development.

"There’s other ways we can learn about poultry without showmanship," Sarah Shaver said.

In normal years, contestants raise the birds themselves and then show them at the fair, held for a week each September.

"It’s like a beauty contest for birds," Reeder said.

Along with suspending the live poultry exhibit, Nancy Kobert’s Amazing World of Animals show will not be in this year’s line-up, Panick said.

Exotic Newcastle disease was detected in October in Southern California, and has agriculture officials worried about the state’s $3 billion poultry industry. Symptoms of the fatal disease include sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, diarrhea, listlessness and death.

Caged birds such as cockatiels, budgies, Amazons and cockatoos are highly susceptible, according to the state agriculture department.

The Southern California outbreak led the state Department of Food and Agriculture to suspend poultry exhibitions statewide. Bird owners also have been asked to stop the movement and sale of backyard birds.

Meanwhile, a state-ordered quarantine of poultry is in effect in Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego and Orange counties.

A San Bernardino County outbreak in 1971 spread statewide, threatened the entire U.S. egg and poultry industry and cost more than $56 million to eradicate. Approximately 12 million chickens were destroyed to keep the disease from spreading.

Contact Brian Seals at bseals@santa-cruz.com.

San Diego Union Tribune, CA

7th commercial site found to be infected
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 6, 2003

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20030206-9999_7m6new.html

A fatal avian disease that has infected pet birds and commercial flocks alike in Southern California and Nevada has now been detected in two flocks of chickens in Arizona.

Officials also announced yesterday that a commercial flock in San Bernardino County tested positive for the disease, bringing the total of infected commercial flocks to seven. About 110,000 birds there will be euthanized, sealed into airtight containers and buried in a landfill – the same fate nearly 2 million birds have met since the outbreak was detected last fall.

The Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force also added a second San Diego County case to its list of infected sites. But that case is not new. It involves a so-called back-yard flock of privately owned birds that was near a Ramona egg ranch where 73,000 chickens were destroyed last month.

It was an error in bookkeeping, said Madelaine Fletcher, a spokeswoman for the task force, which has more than 1,600 state and federal workers assigned to the eradication effort. "Our paperwork wasn't quite right," Fletcher said. "It's (the case is) a month old and it's all done with."

In Arizona last week, a farmer near Poston on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in La Paz County called tribal offices to report the deaths of several chickens. Tests performed at labs in Iowa and California over the weekend concluded the birds were infected with exotic Newcastle.

On Tuesday, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano declared a state of emergency. La Paz County joined a quarantine that includes Clark County in Nevada and eight counties in Southern California. Yuma County and part of Mohave County are expected to be added to the Arizona quarantine.

The task force was setting up a command post in Arizona and had begun the task of searching for other infected birds in the area, said Bruce Syrett, a task force spokesman.

That the disease had spread over hundreds of miles since it was confirmed in a back-yard flock in the Los Angeles County city of Compton in October has officials surmising that bird smugglers are to blame.

"You know and I know that chickens don't migrate and don't walk 150 miles across the desert," Syrett said.

Los Angeles Times

The Inland Valley Voice
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ontario/news/la-ivo-newsbriefs06feb06,1,679826.story

Newcastle disease hits another bird business

An avian disease eradication task force announced Wednesday that a commercial bird business with 110,000 birds has been infected with exotic Newcastle disease.

It is the third such business in San Bernardino County and the seventh in Southern California where the deadly disease has been found, task force spokesman Bruce Syrett said.

Syrett did not know whether it was an egg ranch or a poultry farm.

The other two businesses in San Bernardino County struck with the disease were egg ranches, with more than 400,000 and 1 million birds, respectively.

The disease, which is not harmful to humans, was first found in backyard flocks in Los Angeles County on Oct. 1. It has since spread to five other Southern California counties and to Nevada and Arizona. Nearly 1.9 million birds have been destroyed in the campaign to eradicate the disease.

Wisconsin Ag Connection, WI

Arizona Declares Chicken Emergency
USAgNet Editors - 02/06/2003

http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.cfm?Id=160&yr=2003

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano declared a state of emergency Tuesday after Exotic Newcastle Disease was found in chickens at an Indian reservation in western Arizona. The state Department of Agriculture is expected to quarantine Yuma County, La Paz County and part of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon today, according to Napolitano natural resources adviser Lori Faeth.

"It's highly contagious," she said. The disease was discovered in Arizona after a farmer on the Colorado River Indian Tribes' reservation near the California border reported last week that about 30 chickens had died suddenly.

Salt Lake Tribune, UT

Bird Disease Threatens Utah Flocks

February 6, 2003

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Feb/02062003/business/26685.asp

Bantam chicken exhibitor Warren Tye shows off one of his roosters. Tye says Exotic Newcastle Disease would wipe out his coop of 15 chickens. (Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune) BY LESLEY MITCHELL
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Warren Tye is used to shuttling his prized bantam chickens to shows throughout the United States.

But these days Tye is sticking close to his Taylorsville home to avoid the risk of exposing his tiny fowl to Exotic Newcastle Disease.

The disease, which does not affect humans but is nearly always lethal to chickens and other birds, has not been detected in Utah. But state agriculture officials said Wednesday they fear it may end up here if bird owners neglect to pay close attention to prevention techniques and quarantines.

The Agriculture Department is asking all bird owners to avoid events where birds from different sources come together, and to limit access to their flocks. Although humans do not contract Exotic Newcastle Disease, they can carry it on their clothes and shoes and subsequently infect birds.

Bird owners also face a ban on importing eggs and birds into the state from certain areas in Southern California and southern Nevada. In those states, millions of infected birds have been destroyed to prevent further transmission.

"The disease is on the move," said L. Earl Rogers, assistant state veterinarian. "It's a serious situation."

At risk is a state egg and turkey industry with more than $80 million in annual revenue, said Larry Lewis, spokesman for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Utah has a number of egg farming operations and a sizable cooperative of turkey farms in Sanpete County.

As much as 90 percent of a flock exposed to Exotic Newcastle Disease dies of the disease. No reliable vaccine and no treatment exists for the disease. The only way to avoid further spread of the disease is to kill infected birds and exposed birds.

The Utah Highway Patrol and county sheriff's offices have begun assisting the Agriculture Department in identifying birds being transported to Utah from infected areas and already has helped intercept some questionable shipments, Rogers said.

Rogers said Utah has a number of risk factors, including the popularity of backyard flocks and cockfighting. In both situations, many chicken owners will bring their birds to organized events in Utah and other states.

Tye brought his birds to an Agriculture Department news conference Wednesday to raise awareness of the disease. He said many of his fellow poultry fanciers passed on bringing their birds to the conference because they didn't want to put them at risk of contracting the disease from humans.

As a precaution, Tye kept his two roosters and hen in a wooden box and only he handled them.

"A lot of us are really worried right now about what would happen if this disease gets to Utah," he said.

lesley@sltrib.com

Exotic Newcastle Disease

Symptoms: Greenish watery diarrhea, respiratory problems, sudden drop-off in egg production, drooping wings, loss of the use of one or more limbs and paralysis.

Information: State Veterinarian Office, 801-538-7161.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has successfully prevented the introduction of a fatal poultry disease, Exotic Newcastle Disease from entering the state by enforcement efforts of UHP officers and the DOT. Birds at risk for this disease are chickens and exotic, imported birds of the parrot family.

CFBF

FOOD & FARM NEWS
(Issue date: Thursday, February 6, 2003 )

http://www.cfbf.com/ffn/default.asp

Newcastle disease hits new flock
Another commercial flock of chickens has been confirmed as having exotic Newcastle disease. The flock totals 110 thousand birds and is located in Riverside County, within the current quarantine zone. It is the seventh commercial flock to be infected with the disease, which kills birds but does not harm people. A second case has also been reported in Arizona, among backyard birds near the site of that state's first infected flock.

San Bernardino Sun, CA

Article Last Updated: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 - 9:48:59 PM MST

Traces of exotic Newcastle disease found in Arizona
By ALAN SCHNEPF, Staff Writer

http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~1160745,00.html

A bird disease ravaging Southern California poultry flocks for the past four months has now spread into western Arizona, prompting the state's governor to declare an emergency Wednesday.

The positive test for exotic Newcastle disease in a small backyard flock outside Poston marked the third state where the disease has been found. Birds in southern Nevada tested positive last month. The new case in Arizona was found on a Colorado Indian reservation.

Since the first positive diagnosis was found in birds from Compton on Oct. 1, federal and state officials have killed about 1.9 million birds in an attempt to eradicate the disease.

Fewer than 2,000 of the euthanized birds were located outside Southern California flocks. A positive test at a commercial egg ranch in Fontana spurred agriculture officials to kill more than 1 million birds. Workers have killed birds at about 1,550 locations in Southern California.

Humans face no danger from the disease by eating eggs or poultry meat.

California has been in a state of emergency for exotic Newcastle disease since Jan. 8. The government also has quarantines in place for San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara counties and counties in southern Nevada. Birds cannot be transferred out of the quarantine areas without a permit. The positive test at the reservation prompted officials to include Yuma and La Paz counties in the quarantine area and a portion of Mohave County.

Bruce Syrett, a spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force, said officials have not determined what brought the disease into Arizona. But he said it appears that a scofflaw is responsible.

"The closest infection was in the San Bernardino area and there's about 150 miles of desert between (San Bernardino and the Arizona infection),' Syrett said. "I don't think chickens can fly that far. Somebody broke the quarantine.'

The ranks of the joint federal and state task force fighting the spread of Newcastle have swelled to about 1,400 people, up from fewer than 250 in December.

Officials say they can't predict when they will have the disease contained. Some say it could take years. The disease crippled Southern California's egg industry in the early 1970s when the federal government spent $56 million and killed 12 million chickens to eradicate exotic Newcastle disease.

Paul Allvin, a spokesman for Arizona Gov. Janet Napoltino, said Arizona does not have an egg industry on the scale of Southern California's. The handful of commercial ranches in that state are located in central Arizona and are separated from the disease by the quarantine.

Although the discovery of the disease in another state was bad news, Syrett said officials are hopeful that it will be isolated because action was taken quickly on it.

"They had a bunch of chickens dying and they called the USDA and they came out and killed them. There was only about 30 birds,' Syrett said.

Las Vegas Sun, NV

Today: February 05, 2003 at 9:31:43 PST

Spread of bird disease believed stopped
By Ed Koch
koch@lasvegassun.com
LAS VEGAS SUN

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/feb/05/514620153.html

Authorities believe they have made considerable progress in their efforts to control exotic Newcastle disease in Clark and Nye counties.

Many birds once again can be sold in Las Vegas pet shops, and no cases of the highly contagious and incurable avian disease have been found in Las Vegas in more than a week, officials said Tuesday.

But that doesn't mean the outbreak is over in the region, they cautioned. Arizona was added Tuesday to the list of states where the disease has been confirmed. And authorities are warning that the costs of the eradication effort -- already in the tens of millions of dollars -- are continuing to climb.

Through Tuesday, the cost of the eradication program in Nevada alone has reached $1.4 million, officials said. The effort has involved 100 sites and the killing of about 1,670 birds whose owners were compensated.

Those numbers pale in comparison to those of California, however, where about 2 million birds, mainly chickens, have been destroyed in six counties the last four months at a cost of $26 million, said Nolan Lemon, spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force.

The eradication effort in California has included backyard birds as well as commercial flocks. California has a $3 billion-a-year poultry products industry.

An exotic Newcastle disease outbreak in the early 1970s cost the U.S. government $56 million. In today's money that would amount to $202 million, said David Thain, a Nevada Department of Agriculture veterinarian. The current efforts could wind up being just as costly before they are finished, he said.

If more cases of infected poultry are discovered in Nevada, the euthanization and cleanup efforts will resume. In the meantime, a quarantine remains in effect for chickens, geese, ducks, doves, pigeons, swans, turkeys, peafowl, quail, emus and ostriches. Those types of birds cannot be sold or moved.

The Nevada Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday, however, that it was easing restrictions on pet shops and avian specialty stores. The stores had been forbidden from selling any birds since Jan. 17, after an outbreak of the disease was discovered in chickens in northeast Las Vegas near Nellis Air Force Base.

As of Tuesday, the valley's seven bird stores and other pet shops were able to resume selling parakeets, parrots, cockatiels and other birds commonly kept in indoor cages. The birds can be sold under certain conditions as long as they are healthy and as long as there is a record of who purchased the birds, authorities said.

"We are continuing surveillance, but businesses that sign an agreement will be permitted to get back into play," Thain said. "We have determined there is a minimal risk of spreading exotic Newcastle disease from commercial pet stores."

That was welcome news for area pet stores.

"It has been devastating for us," said Mary Riley, owner of Bahnna Bird Farm at 1235 N. Nellis Blvd., which does not deal in barnyard birds and has not been allowed to sell domestic birds -- its lifeblood -- for 2 1/2 weeks.

"Some of our regular customers have bought extra supplies to help us out. We'll survive. This is a good season for us because traditionally people have spent part of their tax refund checks to buy birds."

Riley said, however, that because of publicity generated by the outbreak, there is a general fear of birds. Health officials say the disease poses no health threat to humans. Riley has more than 500 birds in stock that range in price from $8 to $2,500, that state officials have said are not infected, she said.

The eradication of Exotic Newcastle disease on Southern Nevada has centered on an area bound by Owens Avenue to the south, Marion Street to the east, Cheyenne Avenue to the north and Wilkins Street to the west.

Necropsies recently conducted on 60 birds from that area -- owned by Jill Duncan, the most vocal critic of the eradication process -- found no signs of disease.

Thain said lab tests of a sampling of Duncan's birds to conclusively determine whether they had the disease will take about two weeks.

Duncan contended that all of the birds should have been tested first in order to spare healthy ones, but authorities obtained a court order to euthanize her birds Saturday.

Thain said the 215 federal and state agents who are conducting the eradication process have no choice but to destroy all birds -- healthy or otherwise -- in the infected area.

"We had to look at the one-kilometer area around the (original infected) site to address all potential exposure," Thain said. "In that process, normal, healthy birds are destroyed to ensure that the disease does not get out of the area, so we can save the larger population of healthy birds."

Thain said to date seven sites have been found to be infected, but he would not disclose those locations, citing confidentiality laws. All sites where birds were killed were cleaned and disinfected to stem the potential spread of the disease.

Officials have repeatedly assured the public that the disease is not a health risk for people, only birds.

Duluth News Tribune, MN

Posted on Thu, Feb. 06, 2003
Deadly Bird Virus Found in West Arizona
Associated Press

http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/5116210.htm

PHOENIX - Federal and tribal authorities quarantined a county in western Arizona on Wednesday, one day after announcing that a deadly bird virus had been found on an Indian reservation there.

The order, issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Colorado River Indian Reservation, will prohibit birds or items that have come in contact with the infected birds from leaving La Paz County, said Lori Faeth, the governor's natural resources adviser.

The USDA also was expected to quarantine neighboring Yuma County and a portion of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is caused by a virus found in the droppings, breath and eggs of birds, and is highly contagious. It poses no health risks for humans, but has led to the slaughter of 1.7 million chickens in Southern California and about 1,600 birds in Nevada.

Tucson citizen, AZ

Quarantine issued for western Arizona county
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/breaking/2_5_03poultrydisease.html

The Associated Press
Feb. 5, 2003

PHOENIX — Federal and tribal authorities issued a quarantine Wednesday for La Paz County to try to contain a deadly bird virus found in chickens from a western Arizona Indian reservation.

The quarantine issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Colorado River Indian Reservation will prohibit birds or items that have come in contact with the birds to leave the county, said Lori Faeth, Gov. Janet Napolitano's natural resources adviser. The Arizona Department of Agriculture was expected to quarantine Yuma County and a portion of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon.

The measures were being put in place to try to prevent the spread of Exotic Newcastle Disease, which is caused by a virus found in the droppings, breath and eggs of birds. An infected bird can pass the disease onto another bird just by being nearby. Birds can also be infected by contaminated clothing or shoes.

Napolitano declared a state of emergency Tuesday to try to contain the virus.

Declaring the state of emergency prohibits the transport of live or dead birds from other states into Arizona. It also makes Arizona eligible to receive federal aid.

The disease poses no health risks for humans. It is still safe to eat poultry products from Arizona.

AgWeb

2/5/2003
Economist: Tighter Cattle Supplies Fueling Market
by Julianne Johnston

http://www.agweb.com/news_show_news_article.asp?file=AgNewsArticle_200325148_612&articleid=95040&newscat=GN

The combination of tighter cattle supplies and strong demand fueled January gains in the cattle market, says Kansas State University ag economist James Mintert.

Mintert notes that slaughter cattle prices in the key Kansas market jumped 15 percent in January compared to a year earlier. "The sharp price rise in January was partly the result of declining fed cattle supplies, but it could also mean that consumer demand for beef is improving," he said. "Cattle slaughter fell below a year ago in December and averaged about 1 percent below last year during January."

Dressed cattle weights were near a year ago, which meant beef production in general dropped about 1 percent below 2002 production in January, says Mintert. The small decline in beef production was not large enough to fully explain the big rise in prices, suggesting that a rebound in consumer demand might be partly responsible for the price rise, he adds.

Mintert says slaughter cattle supplies through the rest of the winter will remain tight, which should keep prices in the upper $70s the rest of the winter. Any severe winter weather in the Plains states would likely push cash prices up over $80, he predicts.

The economists expects cattle prices to weaken seasonally by late spring and summer, "but the decline is not likely to be as severe as in 2002." The price drop then was magnified by unexpectedly large supplies of competing meats.

"That scenario is not expected to repeat unless the exotic Newcastle disease problem spreads into major U.S. poultry production areas in Arkansas and parts of the East Coast," he said. The disease has hit poultry flocks in California and has been detected in Nevada. That prompted Mexico to ban poultry imports from those two states. Canada has also placed a ban on poultry imports from California, while the European Union has banned all poultry imports from the entire United States.

K-State livestock economist Rodney Jones adds that the winter price outlook should mean good news for cattle feeders. "Break-even prices for current close-outs are averaging around $72 per cwt, and will likely increase to $74 by late April or early May," he aid. "With current projections suggesting that fed cattle prices will remain in the upper $70s for the next few months, that should result in some much-needed positive returns."

Recent mild winters have been favorable for cattle feeding in Kansas, but that weather-related setbacks are always possible, he said. "There's also a very real chance that feed ingredient prices could rally from their recent lows if dry weather persists into spring. There's always a chance that harsh weather or a sharp increase in feed ingredient prices could impact cattle feeding returns beyond our current expectations," Jones said.

Las Vegas Review Journal, NV

Pet stores resume selling birds
Feb 5, 2003
Restrictions lifted after dangers from Newcastle Disease lessen

By RICHARD LAKE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Feb-05-Wed-2003/news/20625412.html

State and federal efforts to eradicate a fatal bird disease in Southern Nevada are going so well, officials said Tuesday, that pet store owners can again sell birds, though with some restrictions.

"We feel fairly comfortable at this point easing restrictions on pet store operators," state veterinarian David Thain said.

He was not confident enough to say Exotic Newcastle Disease has been eradicated, but he sees little chance it could be spread through commercial pet stores.

A quarantine of Clark and southern Nye counties is still in effect. Birds may not be taken out of the quarantine area without a permit.

The disease, which broke out in California in October, was discovered locally in a backyard flock of chickens just east of North Las Vegas on Jan. 16. Officials immediately declared a quarantine and started searching for more signs of the disease.

No one was allowed to transport birds within the area or out of the area, and the sale of birds was forbidden -- a step not immediately taken in California, where more than 1 million birds have been killed.

"If we didn't jump on it and jump on it hard, we'd be going through the same thing they've got going in Southern California," Thain said.

Exotic Newcastle Disease, which does not affect humans, is spread from bird to bird and is fatal nearly 100 percent of the time.

Following the local discovery, officials gathered birds in the area immediately surrounding where the disease was discovered, near Nellis Air Force Base. So far, they have destroyed more than 1,600 birds from 96 properties, Thain said. Most were geese and chickens.

The efforts have cost about $1.4 million, he said, with the federal government picking up most of the tab.

Officials fear the disease might spread beyond Nevada, which could devastate poultry in other states, especially Utah's turkey industry.

Anyone caught transporting birds outside the quarantine area can be ticketed by the state and fined $600, Thain said. A federal investigation could follow, and fines up to $25,000 can be levied.

Local pet stores, particularly the seven that sell only birds, had suffered financially since the outbreak, Thain said.

"It was hard," said Mary Riley, who owns Bahnna Bird Farm on North Nellis Boulevard. She stocks about 500 birds in the store she opened 12 years ago, she said, and she breeds most of them herself.

Riley estimated the restrictions cost her $1,000 a day in lost revenue. She said, however, that she was glad the state took the problem so seriously.

"I was impressed," she said. "If they hadn't done this, a whole lot more birds could have died."

Agriculture officials tested her birds, she said, and none had the disease.

Though stores can resume selling birds, they must follow some restrictions, which were worked out in a meeting Monday night between the sellers and the agricultural officials.

Riley said she signed a three-page agreement that states she cannot sell chickens, geese and other poultry, that she will not sell birds illegally obtained on the black market, and that she will keep track of whom she sells birds to, among other restrictions.

One of the first birds she sold Tuesday afternoon was to Mike and Toni Lemond, who traveled all the way from St. George, Utah, to buy a bright yellow bird they named Sunny.

"They do lots of tricks and they're very friendly," Mike Lemond said as his wife and son, 3-year-old Alec, played with their new sun conure.

The Lemonds put a deposit on the $350 bird last week, he said, even though they knew about the quarantine. Lemond said they wanted to buy from a breeder, and his hometown has none.

The bird will stay in Las Vegas with his wife's brother until the quarantine is lifted.

A public meeting to discuss Exotic Newcastle Disease is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Von Tobel Middle School, 2436 N. Pecos Road, at Carey Avenue.

Los Angeles Times, CA

Shelton's satisfies natural demand for poultry
Pomona company's organic products fill a niche for customers who expect quality.
By Pam Noles, Inland Valley Voice

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ontario/business/la-ivo-poultry05feb05.story

POMONA -- The recent outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease in the Inland Valley has had minimal effect on a local poultry producer whose organically grown birds are raised in the San Joaquin Valley, well outside the quarantine area.

It's a lucky break for the operators of Shelton's.

When the company began doing business here in 1924, it started as a turkey ranch with one hen and one tom, given as a wedding gift. It specialized in fertile eggs that grew into award winners known for their lovely feathers and good body shape. Eventually, the ranch became known for the tastiness of its turkeys as well, prompting the company to focus on breeding the main course for the traditional holiday market.

In 1969 the Shelton turkey ranch was bought out by its largest distributor, run by the Flanagan family, which kept the name, blended it into its own operation and eventually added chickens.

Now Shelton's begins its 79th year of producing free range, natural, certified organic turkey and chicken products to big and small outlets. The company sells about 750,000 chickens per year and 200,000 turkeys. Though it maintains a boutique storefront at 204 N. Loranne Ave., a place that's hopping come holiday time with an average of 3,000 turkeys being sold, the vast majority of its product goes direct to stores such as Whole Foods nationwide, into the natural foods section of major chains such as Albertsons and in fancy restaurants throughout Southern California and Las Vegas.

"Chances are if you go to a restaurant and pay $25 for a chicken dinner, that's our chicken," said Gary Flanagan, company president.

The company maintains a diverse product line, which includes ducks and poultry products such as broth, jerky, pies, hot dogs and sausages. The company sells fertile eggs, but they are not categorized as organic.

The organic label means that no preservatives, flavor enhancers or artificial ingredients are used in the poultry, nor are antibiotics or artificial growth drugs and the animals are fed organic grains. That label also means that the product is certified as such by a third party. Shelton's uses the program run by California Certified Organic Farmers.

It is a costly way to raise poultry, but the customers demand it. That's why "high quality, low volume" is the operating procedure at Shelton's, Flanagan said.

"More and more people are shopping in natural food stores. That's our market," Flanagan said. "It's a niche market."

About 4% to 5% of total turkey sales are organic, which represents a 30% per year growth of that type of turkey, he said.

Free range means that the animals have to have free access to an outdoor area. For Shelton's, that means the chickens are raised in a 5,000-square-foot area with a fenced-in, shaded open space attached. About 3,000 to 5,000 chickens can fit comfortably in the chicken coop, he said. The turkeys are raised in a 42-acre enclosure with outside access that allows them to bask in the sun at will, he said.

"Turkeys like being in the sun. Chickens don't like being in the sun," Flanagan said.

The company has used the same growers for decades. Its chicken grower is in Kern County, while its turkey grower is in Fresno. Processing is done in Azusa. The chickens arrive in the morning and are in stores by nightfall, a process that continues throughout the year. Though the demand for turkey is slowly becoming year-round, the turkey system is more holiday focused, so they arrive ready to go during the Thanksgiving and Christmas periods.

An inspector from the federal Department of Agriculture has an office in Shelton's company office, making sure everything from labels to processing is done properly, following the guidelines of the federal Organic Food Act of 1990.

"We are heavily mandated by the USDA," Flanagan said.

The recent outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease didn't affect Shelton's operations, primarily because their animals are grown outside of the quarantine area, he said.

As for the future, Flanagan said the family owners, a collective of one sister and five brothers, want to enlarge the business and prepare a third generation to eventually take over. Chances are they will never attempt to be a high-volume producer competing on the same level as mega producers -- they tried that 10 years ago, a costly failure -- but will always maintain their high standards servicing the natural niche market, he said.

Los Angeles Times, CA

February 5, 2003
State asks veterinarians to report sick birds
Inland Valley Voice
By Matthew Chin, Inland Valley Voice

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ontario/news/la-ivo-newcastl05feb05.story

The state's chief veterinarian urged animal doctors Tuesday to report any dead birds brought to their practices to an avian disease eradication task force.

The outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease is concentrated in the Inland Empire and Los Angeles County, but has spread to other Southern California counties and Nevada.

The letter from state veterinarian Richard Breitmeyer was posted on the state Agriculture Department's Web site, co-signed by a U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian.

The letter also said that if an infected bird is brought to a veterinary office, the office must be disinfected. The disease does not affect humans.

In other Newcastle developments, the disease was reported in western Arizona, task force officials said Tuesday.

It was found in a flock of about 35 chickens at the Colorado River Indian Reservations, just east of the California border.

"It's alarming to us, but luckily it's a desert state and it was not deeper into Arizona," said Bruce Syrett, an eradication task force spokesman.

Other reservation flocks will be tested and several government agencies are preparing to prevent the spread of the virus elsewhere in the state, Syrett said.

Syrett said it's still a top priority to prevent the disease from spreading north of the Tehachapi Mountains, where the bulk of California's poultry industry is located.

The task force is investigating whether the disease has infected a number of other commercial facilities, Syrett said. Lab tests take a week and a half from the time a dead bird is given to the agency until it can say whether the bird had the disease, he said.

The disease was first found in backyard flocks in Los Angeles County on Oct. 1. Since then, the disease has spread to six Southern California counties and into Nevada and Arizona.

Nearly 1.8 million birds have been destroyed to stop the spread of the disease. The figure includes birds at six commercial egg farms. More than 1,600 people are working on the task force to eradiate the disease.

San Bernardino County had the most cases of the disease with 781 infected sites, as of Tuesday. Riverside County had 527 cases, Los Angeles County 237 and Clark County, Nev., 91. Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties have had a few reported cases.

Daily Bulletin, CA

Article Last Updated: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 - 7:23:53 PM MST

Arizona Newcastle disease cases confirmed

http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203%257E21481%257E1158137,00.html

The deadly exotic Newcastle disease outbreak has spread to Arizona, officials confirmed Tuesday.

The same virus strain found in southern Californian flocks has been isolated in a poultry flock near Poston, Ariz., just across the Colorado River from San Bernardino County on the Colorado River Indian Reservation, according to Eric Shepard, the acting attorney general of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

The flock of approximately 60 chickens was the first confirmed infestation outside the quarantine zone, exotic Newcastle disease task force spokesman Bruce Syrett said.

"Somebody has probably violated the quarantine somehow," Syrett said. "There's a big patch of desert there with no normal transmission. Chickens don't wander across 150 miles of desert."

The infected flock has been euthanized, but the tribe is awaiting the United States Department of Agriculture's recommendation on further euthanasia.

The exotic Newcastle Disease task force has killed 1.8 million chickens, and has identified another 95,000 for depopulation because of the disease.

Naomi Kresge, (909) 483-8553.

Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, AZ

Quarantine of poultry widespread
By CYNDY COLE, Associated Press February 04, 2003

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6933731&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=222087&rfi=6

PHOENIX - The disease that cost farmers in California 1.5 million chickens has been detected in Las Vegas, prompting Arizona Department of Agriculture officials to ask the governor to declare a state of emergency to protect the state's poultry farmers.

The Department of Agriculture called for a quarantine Jan. 7 on all poultry, eggs and chicks from Nevada and California to stop the Exotic Newcastle Disease from coming to Arizona, said Jack Peterson, associate director of the agriculture department.

The new measure has contributed to increasing the consumer price for eggs - up 17 cents per dozen this year for white eggs, said Dart Easterday, an administrator in the dairy, egg and meat inspection unit of the Department of Agriculture.

The disease is not seriously harmful to people, who could contract a case of conjunctivitis, or "pink eye," from handling infected poultry at worst, Peterson said.

Though poultry often die before signs of the disease become evident, the eggs from infected poultry can be sanitized and the cooked meat is not harmful, he said.

The bigger problem for Peterson, and potentially poultry farmers, is that the disease is highly contagious, deadly to most chickens, and easily carried by pets, vehicles or clothing that come into contact with feed, soil or poultry on an infected farm.

"If this disease were to continue to spread across our industry, the economic impact would be disastrous," Peterson said.

Egg ranchers are taking extreme measures to protect their hens.

Hickman's Egg Ranches, the largest egg-selling venture in Arizona at 11 million eggs per week, has sealed off its three farms in Glendale, Maricopa and Arlington.

Trucks can pass through the farm gates only after employees spray the vehicles with disinfectant, from the cab to the undercarriage, said vice president of sales Clint Hickman.

The caretaker for each building where the laying hens live - the only person allowed in each of those buildings now - must don paper slippers and a paper body suit to protect the chickens, he said.

Because of the disease, the company is carefully selecting who it hires, Hickman said. The ranch recently sent out a notice that employees who own birds cannot work for the ranch.

The word around the ranch is that one of the infected California flocks contracted the disease when an employee went to an illegal cockfight one night then wore the same clothes to work the next day, Hickman said.

Hickman's Ranch sent another notice to employees, saying that employees could be fired if their spouses engage in illegal activity, i.e. cockfighting.

"I'm really scared to death of (the disease)," Hickman said. "I'll lose my whole flock if it gets into mine."

Hickman's has also cut off imports of grain and brown eggs, from California, so they now import their brown eggs from the grain-belt states, raising the price of brown eggs 30 cents per dozen.

Though Arizona isn't one of the top poultry-industry states in the nation, farmers in towns like Colorado City, Dewey and Arlington would be hardest hit if the Newcastle disease comes to Arizona.

The poultry industry, from eggs to turkeys to fryer meat, brings in about $63 million annually in Arizona, Easterday estimated.

On any given day, 150,000 chicks are growing to replace older laying hens and 15,000 chickens are growing to be sold as meat.

Stopping the disease from reaching Arizona and sweeping the West has meant more careful monitoring of the places where semi trucks cross into Arizona, such as Duncan, Douglas, Ehrenberg, Parker, San Simon and Yuma, Peterson said.

Equipment and feed from California and Nevada have also been quarantined.

But what about trucks that pass through border inspection points without being required to stop, those that have been pre-approved to pass, asked Sen. Linda Binder, R-Lake Havasu City, who chairs the Senate Natural Resources and Transportation committee.

Though the truckers have agreed not to carry anything quarantined, and careful examination is required for trucks leaving California's contaminated areas, only about 5 percent of the trucks moving through the pre-approved passing areas are inspected at random.

Cole is the Don Bolles Fellow in the University of Arizona Journalism Department, covering rural and suburban issues at the state Legislature full time for the Journalism Department's Community News Service.

High Plains Journal, KS

Wednesday, February 5, 2003 Good Morning!

Poultry Disease Shows Up in Arizona

http://www.hpj.com/testnewstable.cfm?type=story&sid=8100

The governor of Arizona declared a state of emergency Tuesday after a deadly bird virus was found in chickens at an Indian reservation in the western part of the state.

The state Department of Agriculture was expected Wednesday to quarantine Yuma County, La Paz County and part of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon, Lori Faeth, natural resources adviser to Gov. Janet Napolitano, told The Associated Press.

"It's highly contagious," she said.

A USDA lab announced that the birds had contracted Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has led to the slaughter of 1.7 million chickens in Southern California and about 1,600 birds in Nevada.

The backyard flock was found on land owned by the Colorado River Indians Tribe (CRIT) near Poston, Ariz.

The ag department received a call last week from a resident that had overheard that another resident had lost about 30 chickens from their backyard chicken flock, Rae Chornenky, spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Agriculture told DTN.

The rest of the flock, about 20 birds, was immediately euthanized and the tribal government quarantined all domestic birds on the reservation.

The disease is highly contagious among poultry and birds but poses no health risks for humans. Declaring a state of emergency makes Arizona eligible to receive federal aid.

San Francisco Chronicle, CA

Bioweapons proposal worries neighbors
UC Davis seeks funds to study world's deadliest pathogens

Mark Martin, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau Wednesday, February 5, 2003

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/02/05/MN180570.DTL

Davis -- A UC Davis proposal to build a high-security lab for studying potential biological weapons like anthrax and the Ebola virus has sparked worry and anger from some residents, who aren't so sure they want the war on terrorism fought in their backyard.

University officials are putting the final touches this week on an application for millions of federal dollars that could make UC Davis an integral part of the nation's response to terrorists. The university wants to build a laboratory that could safely study all kinds of exotic pathogens and infectious diseases that pose a threat to both humans and animals.

Their scenario: scientists in moon suits, working in a new ultra-safe building at the western edge of campus, developing diagnostic tests and vaccines to identify and contain a dizzying array of biological weapons used to spread sickness and death.

But the UC Davis plan has met with opposition by some who note that the University of California hasn't exactly been a good steward of the nation's defense spending: The university is under fire for failing to prevent the misuse of credit cards and widespread theft running into the millions of dollars at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

"They can't even keep track of computer parts," said Bill Kopper, a former Davis mayor who is helping lead a well-organized group protesting the lab proposal. "We're talking about some of the most deadly substances known to man. "

President Bush underscored the need for scientific help last week in his State of the Union Address, announcing the creation of Project BioShield to fund bioterrorism research.

The National Institutes of Health is making available $150 million for a new facility that includes a so-called Level 4 lab, equipped to handle the worst biological agents terrorists ever contemplated using.

Other universities in the running for the lab include the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Texas' medical school in Galveston. The University of Texas has also long sought to take over management of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The UC Davis Biocontainment Lab would be the only Level 4 facility on the West Coast. University officials say it would be a safe place for scientists to study some of the world's most dangerous diseases, and everything from fatal strains of influenza to the West Nile virus would go under the microscope.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Designed by the same architectural firm that built buildings for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, the facility would be erected to withstand a 747 plane crash and disastrous fires and would require scientists working with the most highly volatile pathogens to clear 10 access points before getting into or out of the lab.

The proposal has plenty of backers, from top researchers already working in the veterinary and medical schools to longtime Davis citizens who take pride in their university's academic achievements.

But in this tree-lined college town -- where political battles over development projects rival anything experienced in San Francisco -- nothing happens without a fight.

Kopper is one of 12 former elected officials who took out an ad in Sunday's Davis Enterprise newspaper urging the City Council not to endorse the lab. The council is to vote today on a resolution regarding the lab; university officials want to include the resolution in their application to the federal government.

There are only a few Level 4 labs in the country, and none has ever experienced an accident, officials say.

"I understand people's concerns. I think it's safe," said Dr. Frank Murphy, an infectious-disease expert at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine who is helping plan the project.

Scientists like Murphy -- a former head of the CDC and the first person to photograph the Ebola virus -- are one big reason Davis should host the new lab, according to UC Davis Provost Virginia Hinshaw.

DAVIS' RESEARCH EMPHASIS
She noted the university had some of the brightest minds in the world studying diseases in both the veterinary and medical schools, making the new program a perfect fit.

The Davis campus is loaded with molecular biologists, virologists, immunologists and bacteriologists, who work in research-intensive programs like the National Primate Center and the Center for Comparative Medicine.

Davis researchers are on the front line in efforts to contain exotic Newcastle disease, which has forced the slaughter of 1.7 million chickens in Southern California.

"We truly already have a unique combination of expertise," Hinshaw said.

Many in Davis back the plan, noting the university will improve its prestige and help the country in a new kind of war, where enemies are armed with things much worse than bombs.

"Somebody's got to do this work, and those are some of the most intelligent people in the world working over there," said Jacke Leo, owner of Aggie's Barber in downtown Davis. "I think they know what they're doing."

But in a town that saw major clashes over proposals to build a Target and a Borders, opposition is fierce.

OPPOSITION AMONG RESIDENTS
More than 100 residents turned out at a recent public forum to denounce the project. They've developed a Web site and are quick to tick off reasons why the lab is a bad idea.

Nightmare scenarios abound, from terrorists attacking Davis to rogue lab employees sneaking out with a vial of plague. Lab detractors say they don't want Davis to live out some sort of virus-gone-haywire Michael Crichton novel.

The university doesn't plan to conduct an environmental review until it gets initial approval for the project. Detractors note that environmental reviews are typically done before projects are funded, and they note the university and the state will have to pitch in $50 million to go along with the federal dollars.

Opponents are angry that the university is only now holding public hearings,

just as they are turning in the proposal to the federal government. It's due Feb. 10, and government officials are expected to announce this fall which institution receives funding.

University officials say, however, that it will take at least five years to open the lab, allowing plenty of time to talk.

In the meantime, even Davis residents who aren't up in arms over the proposal say there are plenty of mixed feelings.

"Why can't they do something in physics, instead of something so scary," wondered real estate agent Marian Flanders as she sipped coffee at a downtown Starbucks.

BIOSAFETY LEVEL RATINGS
Here's a look at the hazards involved in work at laboratories with different biosafety levels.

BIOSAFETY LEVEL 1
Work with strains of microorganisms not known to cause disease in healthy adult humans.

BIOSAFETY LEVEL 2
Work done with a broad spectrum of indigenous, moderate-risk agents associated with human disease of varying severity.

BIOSAFETY LEVEL 3
Work done with indigenous or exotic agents with a potential for respiratory transmission and which may cause serious and potentially lethal infection.

BIOSAFETY LEVEL 4
Work with dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high individual risk of life-threatening disease that could be transmitted through the air and for which there is no available vaccine or therapy.

Source: UC Davis, office of biosafety

E-mail Mark Martin at markmartin@sfchronicle.com

AgWeb

2/5/2003
Arizona Delares State of Emergency on END
by Julianne Johnston

http://www.agweb.com/news_show_news_article.asp?file=AgNewsArticle_20032597_2512&articleID=95025&newscat=GN

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano Tuesday declared a state of emergency through the state Department of Agriculture following the discovery of the bird virus Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) in Arizona. The declaration prohibits the transport of live or dead birds of all types including poultry, such as chicken and turkey, which might carry the disease into Arizona.

The order was issued upon confirmation of the first case of END in Arizona. It calls upon the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand its quarantine zone to include Yuma County, La Paz County, and the portion of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon.

Additionally, any equipment that is used for the processing of eggs or housing, feeding or watering of birds from quarantined areas of California or Nevada must be certified by the federal government as disinfected before the equipment can be permitted to be shipped to Arizona.

All vehicles that are transporting birds must now stop at an Arizona port of entry inspection station and provide the inspector with a valid certificate of health on the birds.

“The Department of Agriculture has done an outstanding job at quickly containing this outbreak,” Napolitano said. “Their efforts have helped to prevent it from becoming a statewide problem.”

Modesto Bee, CA

Merced County names new ag commissioner
By MICHAEL MELLO
BEE STAFF WRITER

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/6096052p-7049671c.html

MERCED -- Merced County has a new guardian for its $1.7 billion agriculture industry. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-0 to appoint David Robinson to a four-year term as the county's agricultural commissioner.

Supervisor Deidre Kelsey was absent because she was representing the county at a meeting in Sacramento.

Robinson, Madera County's assistant agricultural commissioner, moves from the state's 14th-highest ag-producing county to the fifth. He replaces Michael Tanner, who retired Jan. 10 after 20 years as commissioner.

"This is an excellent opportunity for me," Robinson, 43, said from Madera. "One of the first things I'm going to do is start meeting people in the industry, get to know them, and find out how the ag commissioner's office can serve them better."

As commissioner, Robinson is charged with enforcing codes regulating agriculture and combating pest outbreaks. Robinson also will serve as the county's sealer of weights and measures, ensuring that commercial scales are accurate, and will be in charge of animal control. He will earn about $90,000 a year.

The agricultural commissioners of the San Joaquin Valley meet every month to discuss issues facing their counties, Robinson said.

"I know a good bit of the staff up there already and I feel I know how the office runs," he said.

Robinson will take his position Feb. 18. County Executive Officer Dee Tatum brought the appointment forward as a late agenda item, he said, because Robinson wanted to start as soon as possible. Tatum said one of the reasons for Robinson's early start is keeping the exotic Newcastle disease that has plagued Southern California out of the county's $157 million poultry industry.

Robinson holds a degree in ag science from California State University, Fresno. He put himself through college by running grain combines in Kern County, near his native Bakersfield. He started as an ag inspector with Madera County in 1989 and was appointed assistant commissioner in 1996.

For the Merced position, Robinson bested six applicants from ag commissioner offices around the state.

Gustine farmer Steve Bell, who represented the Merced County Farm Bureau on the selection committee, said he was impressed with Robinson's enthusiasm and his experience.

"When we interviewed him, he was very excited about coming to Merced," Bell said. And, he added, "I think (Robinson) can manage people. In his business as an agricultural commis- sioner, they have to deal with people and do things that aren't always nice I have a lot of confidence he'll do well."

Bee staff writer Michael Mello can be reached at 381-0208 or mmello@modbee.com.

Posted: February 5, 2003 @ 05:00:21 AM PST

Merced Sun-Star, CA

Ag commissioner post filled

Wednesday, February 5, 2003

By Cynthia Neff

http://www.mercedsun-star.com/news/336803826004503.shtml

A yearlong search finally unearthed just the right person to fill Mike Tanner's shoes as Merced County's agricultural commissioner.

David Robinson of Madera was unanimously appointed to the post by the Merced County Board of Supervisors at Tuesday's meeting. Supervisor Deidre Kelsey was not present, nor was Robinson, who was notified of his appointment by phone following the meeting, he said.

Though Robinson was slated to begin Feb. 25, he told County Executive Officer Dee Tatum that he could start as early as Feb. 18.

"And so we made that happen," said Tatum after Tuesday's board meeting. "It was a hard position to fill ... we're pleased as punch about (Robinson)."

Tatum said Robinson's starting salary is about $90,000 a year.

As Madera County's assistant agricultural commissioner until Feb. 14, Robinson is looking forward to tackling the issues facing agriculture, including the Newcastle Disease that is infiltrating poultry flocks in Southern California, preventing exotic pests from destroying crops in the state, the fluctuating agricultural economy and the state budget's impact on agricultural products.

"(I look at ) how we are going to keep providing services that people expect," he said, adding that the economy is so bad for some grape growers in Madera County that they can't make a profit.

"(I also) try to support and represent the agricultural industry to get the best decisions made for it by our legislature," he said.

Robinson is no stranger to the Central Valley.

Born and raised in Bakersfield, he received a degree in agricultural sciences from California State University, Frenso. Robinson said he was hired as an ag inspector for Madera County and worked his way up.

Robinson will take over former Agricultural Commissioner Mike Tanner's job. Tanner retired on Jan. 10 after 20 years of service to the county.

Reporter Cynthia Neff can be reached at 385-2464 or at cneff@mercedsun-star.com.

KOLD-TV, AZ

2/4/03
Arizona Moves To Stop Bird Disease From Spreading

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=1115066&nav=14RTDmjL

Governor Janet Napolitano has declared a state of emergency in order to contain a deadly virus found in chickens.

Tests have come back positive for Exotic Newcastle Disease on a Western Arizona Indian reservation. A farmer near Poston reported about 30 of his chickens had died suddenly. The rest of his flock was put to sleep.

The Colorado River Indian Tribes have quarantined all domestic birds on the reservation, which stretches along the Arizona-California state line.

Exotic Newcastle does not pose a significant health risk to humans, but in rare circumstances, it has been know to cause pink eye, which is treatable with antibiotics.

More than a million birds in California and Nevada are also under quarantine for the disease.

Belleville News-Democrat, IL, Walnut Creek Journal, CA

Posted on Tue, Feb. 04, 2003

Ariz. Finds Bird Virus, Sets Quarantine
Associated Press, Many Sources!

http://www.belleville.com/mld/newsdemocrat/5106800.htm
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/5106800.htm

PHOENIX - The governor declared a state of emergency Tuesday after a deadly bird virus was found in chickens at an Indian reservation in western Arizona.

The state Department of Agriculture was expected Wednesday to quarantine Yuma County, La Paz County and part of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon, said Lori Faeth, natural resources adviser to Gov. Janet Napolitano.

"It's highly contagious," she said.

A USDA lab announced that the birds had contracted Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has led to the slaughter of 1.7 million chickens in Southern California and about 1,600 birds in Nevada.

The disease was discovered in Arizona after a farmer on the Colorado River Indian Tribes' reservation near the California border reported last week that about 30 chickens had died suddenly.

The rest of the flock, about 20 birds, was immediately euthanized and the tribal government quarantined all domestic birds on the reservation.

The disease is highly contagious among poultry and birds but poses no health risks for humans.

Declaring a state of emergency makes Arizona eligible to receive federal aid.

Meanwhile, officials in Nevada eased restrictions imposed in the southern part of the state last month after the discovery of the disease in some backyard chickens.

David Thain, Nevada's chief veterinarian, said the disease had been mostly stamped out in Clark and Nye counties and it was safe for businesses to sell all birds except poultry.

A quarantine remains in effect in those counties, meaning birds can't be transported outside the area and to neighboring states without a permit, officials said.

"We are not willing to go out on a limb and say it is eliminated," Thain said. "But we haven't found any spread to the pet-bird population."

Since the disease turned up in backyard poultry flocks in Southern California in September, authorities are conducting an intensive eradication campaign and have imposed a quarantine throughout that region to try to protect the state's $3 billion poultry industry. Nevada does not have a commercial poultry industry.

Exotic Newcastle is caused by a virus found in the droppings, breath and eggs of birds. An infected bird can pass the disease to another bird by being in close proximity.

KVBC, NV

Newcastle Restrictions Eased, Stores Can Sell Birds Again

February 4, 2003

http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=1114517&nav=15MVDmHk

Some good news in the battle against exotic Newcastle disease. For the first time in nearly 3 weeks, local pet shops can once again sell birds. A county-wide quarantine had been in affect since the virus was first discovered in some backyard birds in the middle of January. News 3's Denise Rosch reports despite this easing of restrictions, the Newcastle emergency continues.

Since mid-January, about 1600 birds have been destroyed in our area, all in neighborhoods south of Nellis Air Force Base where the virus was found. And unfortunately, more will be put down. But the problem has been limited to backyard poultry like chickens, ducks, and geese. Pet birds have all tested clean. And now, bird shops are back in business.

There hasn't been much to chirp about lately at Banna Bird Farm. For weeks, Owner Mary Riley's business has been on hold. "Lost revenue about $1,000 a day." All because of a mass move to stop the spread of exotic Newcastle disease, a virus that's deadly to birds, but harmless to humans. "They were here 3 days after it first broke out, they tested my birds and the tests came back negative."

"They" are agents with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For weeks, crews have visited farms in northeast Las Vegas, euthanizing chickens, ducks and other birds in an effort to stop the spread of the disease. As a precaution, pet stores were ordered also to stop selling birds. But State Veterinarian David Thain says if shop owners sign a three page agreement, they can reopen.

As for Riley, the quarantine is over. Heads are once again bobbing around her shop, luring customers back in. Since the quarantine, Mary Riley has had to lay off 2 workers. No business, meant no money to meet payroll. She's hopeful those employees will be hired back. A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture says he's cautiously optimistic that exotic Newcastle is limited to one neighborhood in the valley.

Even so, agents will be monitoring the situation for several more months. To date, the USDA has shelled out close to 1.5 million dollars to fight the disease in Clark County.

San Jose Mercury News, CA

Posted on Tue, Feb. 04, 2003

Arizona governor declares state of emergency after chickens test positive
ANANDA SHOREY
Associated Press

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5105697.htm

PHOENIX - Gov. Janet Napolitano declared a state of emergency Tuesday to try to contain a deadly bird virus found in chickens from a western Arizona Indian reservation.

The declaration prohibits the transport of live or dead birds from other states into Arizona.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to quarantine Yuma County, La Paz County, and a portion of Mohave County south of the Grand Canyon on Wednesday morning.

The quarantine will prohibit birds or items that have come in contact with the birds to leave the counties, said Lori Faeth, Napolitano's natural resources adviser.

The measures are intended to prevent the spread of Exotic Newcastle Disease, which is caused by a virus found in the droppings, breath and eggs of birds. An infected bird can pass the disease onto another bird just by being nearby. Birds can also be infected by contaminated clothing or shoes.

"It's highly contagious," said Faeth. "Once a flock is infected the only resolution is to put all the birds to death."

The disease poses no health risks for humans. It is still safe to eat poultry products from Arizona.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sent a veterinarian last week to the Colorado River Indian Tribes' reservation, which is on the Arizona-California state line, after a farmer near Poston reported that about 30 of his chickens had died suddenly, tribal officials said.

The rest of the flock, about another 20 birds, was immediately euthanized and the tribal government quarantined all domestic birds on the reservation.

A USDA lab announced Tuesday that the birds had contracted Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has led to the slaughter of 1.7 million chickens in Southern California and about 1,670 birds in Nevada. Quarantines have been imposed in both states.

The Arizona quarantine will continue indefinitely and it is likely more birds on the reservation will be euthanized as a precaution against the spread of the disease, USDA officials said.

When Hickman's Egg Ranch, which has about 2 million chickens in Arizona, found out birds had the disease in Southern California they stopped getting eggs and feed from that state.

"We've been worried about this since the moment we found out that any bird in the U.S. had Newcastle Disease," said Clint Hickman, ranch sales manager. "It is probably the worst virus in the poultry species."

The egg ranch, which produces 1.8 million eggs daily in Buckeye and Maricopa, also recently increased its biosecurity measures.

They have been locking all gates, limiting the people who can enter the chicken houses, disinfecting equipment, changing clothes and disinfecting boots and feet.

Reno Gazette Journal, NV

State officials ease restrictions on sale of birds in Nevada

Associated Press
2/4/2003 03:55 pm

http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/02/04/33663.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News

Nevada officials on Tuesday eased restrictions included in a bird quarantine that was imposed in southern Nevada after the Exotic Newcastle Disease was found last month in some backyard chickens.

David Thain, the state's chief veterinarian, said the highly contagious disease has almost been stamped out in Clark and southern Nye counties and it was safe for businesses to sell birds again.

The quarantine remains in effect, however, officials said. They said birds in southern Nevada can't be transported outside the quarantine area without a permit.

"We are not willing to go out on a limb and say it is eliminated,"Thain said."But we haven't found any spread to the pet-bird population. I'm confident we've kept it out."

The disease, which doesn't affect humans, was discovered near Nellis Air Force Base on Jan. 16. State officials immediately imposed a quarantine on the movement of birds to prevent the spread of the disease that poses a risk to the poultry industry in California and Utah. Nevada does not have a commercial poultry industry.

"We're optimistic that our prompt response to the outbreak will enable us to contain the disease to a 14-square-mile area of Clark County,"Thain said.

Since the disease turned up in backyard poultry flocks in Southern California in September, more than 1.7 million chickens have been slaughtered there. State and federal authorities are conducting an intensive eradication campaign and have imposed a quarantine throughout Southern California to try to protect the state's $3 billion poultry industry.

Thain said authorities have destroyed 1,670 birds in Nevada in a $1.4 million effort to stop the spread of the disease. Officials went door to door looking for sick birds.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is caused by a virus found in the droppings, breath and eggs of birds. An infected bird can pass the disease onto another bird by being in close proximity.

Thain said authorities will watch to ensure there isn't another outbreak.

Businesses, can sell birds if they agree to keep detailed purchasing records, Thain said. The stores can't sell live poultry, and anyone who illegally buys or transports birds could face state and federal fines.

Thain said that he met Monday night with store owners who sell birds to talk about easing restrictions.

"We wanted to relieve some of the financial problems they've been strapped with over the last two weeks,"he said.

Mary Riley, who owns Bahnna Bird Farm, said she's relieved the worst is over. Her farm has 500 different birds and she hasn't been able to sell one since the disease was found. Riley said she lost $1,000 a day in revenue, but none of her birds was infected.

"It was hard,"she said."People were afraid to come in my shop to even buy seed. At least my birds are safe."

Davis Enterprise, CA

Prof's advice: We must be prepared
By Crystal Ross O'Hara/Enterprise staff writer

http://www.davisenterprise.com/display/inn_news/328NEW4.TXT

Fred Murphy, a UC Davis professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology, told members of the UCD Retirees Association Monday that the theme in his field of study is now: Expect the unexpected.

For example, Murphy said, smallpox was once considered a thing of the past. It was only known to exist in two places, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, and in a former Soviet research station in Siberia.

The CIA now suspects that North Korea, several former republics of the former Soviet Union, Iraq and even France have the virus that has killed more people than any other disease in history.

"This has to be seen as one of the most terrible things after so many people worked so hard to eradicate it," Murphy said.

But bioterrorism isn't the only issue that officials like Murphy worry about. He pointed to several outbreaks in the last decade of emerging diseases. Hantavirus, Ebola, antibiotic-resistant staphyloccus, mad cow disease and now exotic Newcastle disease and the West Nile virus have all threatened animals and humans in recent years.

More research into these diseases -- how they are spread, how they can be stopped and how to treat those infected -- is needed, he said.

Murphy came to speak on the general topic of bioterrorism. But he said he changed the topic of his lecture after Wednesday's Davis City Council meeting, when Murphy and other officials from UCD were met with angry residents who are concerned about the university's plan to bring a high-level biocontainment laboratory to the campus.

Murphy spoke at length about the lab, what type of research would be conducted, what type of security measures would be in place and why UCD is the place for such a lab.

"We think that Davis, despite the events at the Davis City Council meeting ... represents a very good place for this lab," he said.

Murphy said UCD's strengths in medicine, veterinary medicine and interdisciplinary research, coupled with its proximity to Sacramento and its partnerships with outside agencies -- like the Office of Emergency Services and the California Health Department -- make it an excellent candidate for the laboratory.

Several universities are vying to be chosen by the National Institutes for Health for the placement of a national biocontainment laboratory on their campus. Proposals for the lab are due Monday.

The two dozen or so retirees who gathered at the Putah Creek Lodge on Monday afternoon to hear Murphy's talk were far less vocal than residents at Wednesday's council meeting, but there were several people with concerns.

One man said UCD has a long history of building state-of-art facilities and then letting them deteriorate because of a lack of funds.

"How can we be assured if we get this great building you'll keep it maintained?" he asked.

Murphy said the NIH has pledged to provide maintenance funding for the lab for 25 years, in addition to most of the building costs. The laboratory is estimated to cost about $200 million.

Another woman asked why the lab is being considered in a populated community, rather than in an isolated area. Murphy said the lab must be in a community in order to attract the best researchers. He also said that isolated research laboratories, for example, Plum Island, located off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., create an "island mentality," where researchers are separated from the general population and spend time only with each other.

To learn more about UCD's proposal, visit www.news.ucdavis.edu/biodefense/wncbed.lasso. To learn more about the group opposed to the lab, visit www.simpalife.com/stopUCDBioLabNOW.

-- Reach Crystal Ross O'Hara at cohara@davisenterprise.net

Tuesday, February 4, 2003

Wichita Eagle, KS, Kansas City Star, MO, Walnut Creek Journal, CA

Posted on Tue, Feb. 04, 2003

Nevada Eases Bird Quarantine in South
Associated Press - Many Sources!

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/5103869.htm
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/5103869.htm
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/5103869.htm

LAS VEGAS - Nevada officials eased restrictions Tuesday in a costly bird quarantine imposed in southern Nevada last month after the discovery of Exotic Newcastle Disease in some backyard chickens.

David Thain, the state's chief veterinarian, said the highly contagious disease had been mostly stamped out in Clark and Nye counties and it was safe for businesses to sell birds again.

The quarantine remains in effect, however, officials said. They said birds can't be transported outside the quarantine area and to neighboring states without a permit.

"We are not willing to go out on a limb and say it is eliminated," Thain said. "But we haven't found any spread to the pet-bird population. I'm confident we've kept it out."

The disease, which doesn't affect humans, was discovered near Nellis Air Force Base on Jan. 16. State officials immediately banned bird sales and imposed a quarantine on the movement of birds to prevent the spread of the disease.

Since the disease turned up in backyard poultry flocks in Southern California in September, more than 1.7 million chickens have been slaughtered there. State and federal authorities are conducting an intensive eradication campaign and have imposed a quarantine throughout Southern California to try to protect the state's $3 billion poultry industry.

Thain said authorities have destroyed about 1,600 birds in Nevada in a $1.4 million effort to stop the spread of the disease.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is caused by a virus found in the droppings, breath and eggs of birds. An infected bird can pass the disease onto another bird by being in close proximity.

The Press-Enterprise

Briefs - 02/04
02/04/2003
INLAND
http://www.pe.com/business/local/PE_BIZ_nfmemo04.58199.html

Tribe's fowl tested for Newcastle virus

Federal authorities are testing chickens from a western Arizona Indian reservation to determine whether they were infected with exotic Newcastle disease, a deadly and highly contagious bird virus.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sent a veterinarian to the Colorado River Indian Tribes' reservation service last week after a farmer there reported that 30 of his chickens had died suddenly, tribal officials said Friday.

Exotic Newcastle disease has led to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of chickens in Southern California. Officials have also placed a quarantine on poultry and pet birds from California to southern Nevada.

Bruce Syrett, information officer with the joint federal and state exotic Newcastle disease task force in California, said there has been no communication between the California task force and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials in Arizona.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL, San Jose Mercury News, CA

No chickens at Monterey County Fair; disease blamed

The Associated Press
Last modified: February 04. 2003 9:25AM
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20030204&Category=APN&ArtNo=302040705&Ref=AR
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5102303.htm

-- The only chickens at this year's Monterey County Fair will be fried.

Yesterday -- the fair board said no live chickens will be exhibited because of a deadly disease that could wipe out the state's poultry industry.

Fair Deputy Manager Kelly Baldwin says the chicken ban is being done to avoid the spread of exotic Newcastle disease, a virus which can spread rapidly among poultry.

To keep the disease from spreading -- poultry is banned from the fair, which runs from August 12th through the 19th.

The disease has shown up in some flocks in Southern California.

The Californian, CA, Contra Costa Times, CA

Monterey fair bans chickens this year
Board takes precautions to keep Exotic Newcastle Disease out of county
By Glenn Cravens
http://www.californianonline.com/news/stories/20030204/localnews/914204.html
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/5102506.htm

Youngsters won't be exhibiting chickens at this year's Monterey County Fair because of a deadly disease that could kill the state's poultry, the fair's board of directors announced Monday.

"We're doing this all in the name of safety," said county fair deputy manager Kelly Baldwin.

Concern surrounds the Exotic Newcastle Disease, a virus that can spread among birds without warning. Signs include respiratory and digestive problems, swelling in the eyes and neck and a drop in egg production or a production of thin-shelled eggs.

To prevent Newcastle from spreading here, no poultry will be allowed in the fairgrounds during the fair, Aug. 12-17.

"It's way too risky," said Don Barger, poultry committee director for the county fair. "We'll get some other activities for the kids."

Ivy Lurz, a 10-year-old member of the Monterey County 4-H club, said she was disappointed by the announcement because she won't be able to showcase her black bantam orppingtons, a type of bird that can obtain the disease. Since age 4, she has showcased poultry.

"Now, I'm going to do an egg project, but I've never done one before," Ivy said.

Directors say they don't know what will replace the poultry exhibitions but have suggested a science-fair type activity such as a Jeopardy-style trivia contest known as an "avian bowl." An announcement on available poultry activities will be available in coming weeks.

The fair board's announcement comes days after a weekend seminar at the University of California, Davis, where doctors discussed Newcastle and how to keep it from reaching Northern California.

Visalia Times-Delta, CA

Nunes leads TB fund bid
Money would pay farmers for destroying cattle
By Amee M. Thompson
Staff writer

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/news/stories/20030204/localnews/914393.html

Background
Tulare County is both the No. 1 dairy and cattle producing county in the state. Together the two industries account for $1.5 billion of the county's $3.5 billion agricultural industry.

Just two weeks after state agriculture officials an-nounced that the loss of bovine tuberculosis-free status was imminent, six California congressmen are working to make sure money is available to keep the disease in check.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, is leading the legislators in a plea to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman to transfer $70 million to the Commodity Credit Corp. for bovine depopulation in California.

The money would be used to pay for animals dairy farmers and cattlemen have to destroy to keep the disease from spreading.

"We're asking [USDA] to act quickly rather than to wait until the problem gets worse," Nunes said.

The other congressmen involved are Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, George Ra-danovich, R-Mariposa, Buck McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, Doug Ose, R-Sacramento, and Dennis Cardoza, D-Modesto.

In May, bovine TB was confirmed in a dairy herd near Tulare. That herd was destroyed in November. In October, a cow in a second county herd preliminarily tested positive for the disease. Also in October, an infected beef animal, possibly from Tulare County, was found in a slaughterhouse.

On Jan. 21, state and federal officials announced that California will be reclassified to modified accredited advanced status, which means every breeding cow or bull will have to be tested for bovine TB before leaving the state, and all feeder cattle would have to be identified by their locations of origin.

In California, the brand requirement fulfills the second regulation. But if the state is downgraded to modifed accredited then all feeder cattle would have to be tested.

It is critical to have the compensation money available to keep the option of depopulation, said Jim Sullins, executive director of the University of California Cooperative Extension office in Tulare County.

"If we don't get rid of [an infected] herd, then we won't be able to keep the modified accredited advanced status," Sullins said. "If they downgrade us one more step, then [feeder cattle] would have to be tested, and that would be a real hardship on the beef industry."

Bovine TB is just one example of a disease or pest coming into the state from somewhere else. Other recent imports have been exotic Newcastle disease in poultry and the glassy-winged sharpshooter, which carries Pierce's disease.

"We need to have other products that are imported to this country, whether dairy cattle, citrus or stonefruit, grown under the same regulations that ours are grown under [to keep U.S. agriculture safe]," Nunes said.

Originally published Tuesday, February 4, 2003

Salem Statesman Journal, OR

Virus shakes poultry farms
TIMOTHY J. GONZALEZ / Statesman Journal

The disease is not dangerous to humans, but it is fatal for chickens.

MICHAEL ROSE
Statesman Journal
February 4, 2003

http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=56078

Fearing that their feathered charges might catch a fatal virus, Oregon chicken farmers are chasing away visitors and ordering others to wear protective clothing.

Outbreaks of Exotic Newcastle disease in California and Nevada — a lethal bird disease — has Oregon’s $100 million egg and broiler industry stepping up its bio-security. Meanwhile, Oregon’s agriculture department has started making preparations to respond if the disease strikes here. The disease doesn’t harm people, but people can spread the virus to farms by carrying it on their clothing, shoes or car tires.

Karen Ingram, who describes herself as the “mama hen” to 72,000 chickens at her Polk County farm, has banned some friends from her home because they keep parrots, which can carry the disease.

“It sounds crazy, but we would rather err on the side of caution,” Ingram said.

People with business on the farm get grilled about whether they own birds before they are allowed to pass. Trucks that enter the farm are sprayed with disinfectant, and workers who make deliveries wear white, disposable coveralls and booties. Ingram keeps the car she drives into town far from the chicken barns.

Agriculture officials said the stringent precautions against the disease make sense.

Oregon’s agriculture department has placed a quarantine on birds and equipment from areas where Exotic Newcastle disease has been found. It also has printed brochures in English and Spanish to alert bird owners, whether they run full-scale chicken farms or are hobbyists with backyard coops.

Birds suffering from the disease may have respiratory problems, diarrhea, paralysis and a drop in egg production. The last time Exotic Newcastle cut a swath through U.S. farms was more than 30 years ago.

“Its mere mention sends shivers up the spines of even the most stalwart in the industry,” said James Hermes, a poultry specialist with the Oregon State University Extension Service.

So far, no cases of Exotic Newcastle disease have turned up in Oregon. But the highly contagious disease continues to spread among birds in California and Nevada.

The only means to contain the disease: destroy all birds in exposed flocks.

Agriculture officials in California have gassed nearly 1.8 million birds since the disease was detected in October. About 1,600 birds have been killed in Nevada.

“That is what is causing us big alarm: It’s crossing mountains,” said Nicole Negulesco, administrator of the Oregon Fryer Commission. The commission is issuing warning signs that its members can post on farm gates to keep people away from birds.

Spreading contagion from one farm to another has so concerned Oregon poultry producers that some were reluctant to meet face-to-face to discuss a response to Exotic Newcastle disease, said Jonathan Schlueter, of the Northwest Poultry Council.

State veterinarian Andrew Clark said vigilance by bird owners is the best defense against the disease. They should contact a veterinarian immediately if their animals show signs of Exotic Newcastle, he said.

With new cases of Exotic Newcastle turning up in California and Nevada daily, the situation is “not very heartening,” Clark said. The agriculture department already has drawn up a list of suppliers for the equipment it would need to deal with an outbreak in Oregon.

The department also has sent a field veterinarian to Nevada to help officials respond to the disease and to gather information. Oregon’s poultry producers hope it’s an academic exercise, not a dress rehearsal.

Michael Rose can be reached at (503) 399-6657.

Las Vegas Sun

Today: February 03, 2003 at 10:00:01 PST

Money no comfort for bird owner
By Ed Koch
koch@lasvegassun.com
LAS VEGAS SUN

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/archives/2003/feb/03/514609470.html

In a month or so, Jill Duncan will receive from the federal government checks of $1,785 for her destroyed poultry and $400 for the lumber and other materials of her aviary that was taken down Saturday.

She says it will not come anywhere close to compensating her for the loss of her feathered friends, some of which she has had for 20 years.

They were killed in an effort to eradicate a deadly avian disease that has forced poultry quarantines locally and in California.

"My birds were healthy -- I'll never accept that what happened was right," Duncan, 56, said today in the wake of federal officials serving her Saturday with a court order signed by a U.S. magistrate to enter to her property off Lamb Boulevard and Lake Mead Drive and destroy her birds.

"I will continue writing letters and I will demand the (postmortem) test results that will prove my birds were not sick."

The eradication of exotic Newcastle disease from a one-kilometer area in northeast Las Vegas has resulted in more than nearly 1,650 fowl being destroyed and has cost the federal government $1.2 million in fair-market compensations.

Duncan's compensation was for three pet geese, 17 ducks and 40 chickens plus several pigeons that years ago flew into the coup and decided to make it their home. "They gave me $10 apiece for the pigeons," she said.

To date, seven sites in the local eradication zone have been found to be infected. But federal officials maintain that the entire area has to be depopulated of birds, cleaned and disinfected in an effort to save the rest of the valley's domesticated outdoor bird population.

"We cannot say when the eradication will be complete, but we have covered a majority of the zone," said Nolan Lemon, spokesman for the Exotic Newcastle Disease Task Force. "On Sunday we continued going door-to-door, knocking on 1,439 doors and contacting 934 residents."

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Monday, February 03, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Woman's pet birds eradicated

USDA gets court order to gas poultry in fight against virus

By FRANK CURRERI
REVIEW-JOURNAL

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Feb-03-Mon-2003/news/20608668.html

When the federal government wanted to kill dozens of Jill Duncan's pet birds, she put up a fight.

Now she is left to ponder just how quickly she was defeated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Trying to thwart a potential poultry crisis, USDA workers arrived at Duncan's home on Saturday afternoon with a court order and fatally gassed 64 of her domesticated chickens, ducks and geese, she said.

"I still have a pig," said the 56-year-old, who lives in an area east of North Las Vegas, where USDA officials have euthanized 1,535 domesticated birds in recent weeks. "But I feel awful. I'll never be the same."

The USDA has euthanized the domesticated birds, agency officials have said, after discovering birds that were infected with the deadly Exotic Newcastle virus on numerous properties in Duncan's neighborhood. The virus is not harmful to humans but has ravaged poultry industry sales in the past.

Duncan said none of her animals appeared to be sick. She said the agency declined to test the animals for the disease because it would have been too costly. She was the only one of 82 owners to challenge USDA officials to get a court order for their mission.

On Saturday, she sat by and watched her pets die.

USDA officials showed up in white uniforms and gloves, Duncan said, and one by one trapped the animals and placed them in a small barrel with carbon dioxide gas.

After the mission was complete, Duncan said parting USDA officials approached her and her husband. "They gave us their condolences," she said, "and wanted to shake our hands. I'm so sorry that I did."

Duncan said two of the dead animals, a goose and a duck named "Daffy," had been with her for 20 years. She is left with the pig, a dog and five cats.

"I wouldn't get another animal like that as long as I live," Duncan said of domesticated birds. "Because they would come and do the same thing."

Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman, IA

http://www.ifbf.org/publication/spokesman/story.asp?number=20573&type=Ag

Poultry ban
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge announced a state ban on the importation of avian species and products originating from California and Nevada to protect against Exotic Newcastle Disease.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is a highly contagious and often fatal poultry disease that was first confirmed in southern California and has spread from backyard poultry to commercial facilities. The disease has also been discovered in a chicken flock in Nevada.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL and San Jose Mercury News, CA

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20030203&Category=APN&ArtNo=302030764&Ref=AR
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5095281.htm

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The Fresno County fair board has joined Kern, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties and canceled its poultry exhibit after an outbreak of the exotic Newcastle disease in Southern California.

"We didn't want to take any chances at allowing this disease to spread," said Scott Anderson, the Big Fresno fair's chief executive officer.

He said while the exhibit at the October fair is popular among schoolchildren who raise birds to be judged or sold, the threat to Fresno County's $339 million poultry industry is too great.

Since October, the deadly poultry disease has hit Southern California's poultry industry, causing 1.7 million chickens to be destroyed. Local, state and federal agencies have created a task force to stop the spread.

Last month, state Department of Food and Agriculture sent memos to fair boards across the state recommending the boards cancel their poultry exhibits to stop the spread of the disease.

Gov. Davis and federal officials have declared a state of emergency and a quarantine against the movement of poultry products exists in several Southern California counties.

Last modified: February 03. 2003 11:58AM

San Francisco Chronicle, CA and other sources

Activity in the state capital for Feb. 2-7

The Associated Press Sunday, February 2, 2003

(02-02) 12:40 PST SACRAMENTO (AP) --

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/02/02/state1540EST0030.DTL

AGRICULTURE:
- The Senate Agriculture and Water Resources Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the state's effort to fight Exotic Newcastle Disease, which has tormented California's poultry industry.

Fence Post, CO

Feb 2, 2002
NOTE: I think they forgot a zero in the count of the dead included.

Poultry producers need to watch for Newcastle

Colorado Department of Agriculture

REF: http://www.thefencepost.com/article.php?sid=598&mode=&order=&thold=

Officials at the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) want poultry producers to be on the watch for symptoms of Exotic Newcastle Disease among their birds.

“Although this is not a human health issue, we want veterinarians and producers to diagnosis it as quickly as possible, if it should arrive in our state,” said Wayne Cunningham, state veterinarian at the CDA. “This disease has the potential of completely devastating our poultry industry.”

During the past few months, more than 150,000 chickens in California have been killed to combat the spread of Exotic Newcastle Disease. In Colorado, there are 4.2 million chickens across the state, according to the Agricultural Statistics Service.

“The virulence of the disease is staggering, so it’s important for all owners, whether they have just one or two birds or are commercial producers, to monitor their flock for any symptoms of the disease,” said Cunningham.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is a contagious and fatal disease affecting all species of birds. This viral disease is one of the most infectious diseases of poultry in the world, and many birds die before showing any clinical signs. Death rates in unvaccinated poultry flocks are nearly 100 percent, and vaccinations can not prevent death.

With an incubation period of 2 to 15 days, the disease affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems. In the respiratory system, the symptoms are sneezing, gasping for air, coughing and nasal discharge. In the digestive system, the signs include greenish and watery diarrhea. Nervous system signs include depression, muscular tremors, drooping wings, twisting of the head and neck, and complete paralysis.

Other general symptoms are a drop in egg production, thin-shelled eggs, a swelling of the tissues around the eyes and neck, sudden death and increased death loss in the flock.

For more information about the disease, visit our Web site at www.ag.state.co.us or contact the CDA at (303) 239-4161.

Las Vegas Review Journal

Saturday, February 01, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Feathered friends get reprieve
But federal efforts to eradicate virus may force killing of more birds

By FRANK GEARY
REVIEW-JOURNAL

REF: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Feb-01-Sat-2003/news/20600912.html

Jill Duncan, who is forcing federal inspectors to get a court order before killing her birds,
feeds 12-year-old Mother Goose. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to eradicate
an outbreak of the Exotic Newcastle virus, which is deadly to birds and can be spread by humans.
Photo by Jeff Scheid.

They're named after cartoon characters and nursery rhymes, but they're not headed for a storybook ending.

Mother Goose and a duck named Daffy are just two of the birds that animal lover Jill Duncan is trying to save from federal government inspectors, who are determined to wipe out a deadly virus in her neighborhood -- and her pets in the process.

Since the eradication started two weeks ago in an area east of North Las Vegas and north of Owens Avenue, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has killed 1,535 domesticated birds in the area, including geese, chickens and peacocks. Inspectors have discovered birds infected with the lethal Exotic Newcastle virus on seven properties, USDA spokesman Nolan Lemon said.

Duncan is the first of 82 owners to force the USDA to get a court order before laying a hand on her birds.

"I am not going to let them on my property without a court order," Duncan said. "A doctor told me they could test them without killing them. If they wanted to kill one of my chickens to test it, that would be OK, but they just don't seem sick to me."

Duncan's birds were supposed to be rounded up with nets and gassed in closed barrels today, but they received a reprieve late Friday.

Lemon said federal officials will try Monday to get a court order to go on Duncan's land.

The Exotic Newcastle virus is not harmful to humans, but it can be spread through contact with them. The disease, which hit parts of Florida in the 1980s and struck Southern California for a second time about three months ago, could harm other area birds and devastate the poultry industry in neighboring Utah.

Lemon said the eradication effort near North Las Vegas has been troubling for some property owners, especially those who have kept birds as pets for as long as 20 years.

Although it's small consolation for Duncan, neighbors Sue and Jerry Jerrems and others, the USDA has paid owners about $70,000 for the birds that have been killed, Lemon said.

"It's a very serious disease. It's unfortunate that people's birds have to die. ... If we take no action, they will die and it will be a terrible, drawn-out death, and they will jeopardize other birds," Lemon said.

The outbreak in Southern California, which is not contained, has devastated the region's $3 billion-a-year poultry industry because birds in the region are not allowed to be moved, and foreign countries have refused to import poultry from anywhere in California, Lemon said.

Meanwhile, the USDA this week dispatched a veterinarian to the Colorado River Indian Tribes' reservation in Arizona, near the California border, after a farmer near Poston reported about 30 of his chickens had died suddenly, tribal officials said Friday.

The rest of the flock, about 20 birds, was euthanized, and the tribal government quarantined all domestic birds.

A federal task force of about 40 veterinarians and 80 other workers arrived in Las Vegas last week to address the problem, which could take months to solve. About 110 more workers arrived this week to help, Lemon said.

The four ducks, two geese and five peacocks that roamed the Jerrems' two-acre lot and swam in their backyard pond had been the couple's pets for as long as 20 years before they were killed Thursday.

The peacocks were born and raised by the Jerrems and ate from their hands. One of the peacocks, named Boy Bird, responded when called by name, Jerry Jerrems said.

His wife had been without her pets for a day, but already was missing them.

"It's hard when they take your pets," she said. "You go outside and nobody is screeching or honking. It's just not the same anymore. It's no fun to go into the yard. I hate it."

Jill Ward was relieved when USDA inspectors spared the pet parrot she raised.

"The one I raised from the egg is named Roscoe, and he is 10 years old," Ward said. "I am glad they are not going after parrots. It would have been devastating."

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