Salem Statesman Journal, OR

REF http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=52657

Disease threatens poultry

Staff, news services
November 30, 2002

Pet bird fanciers and the poultry industry in Oregon are being asked to help ward off a new foreign animal disease threat - Exotic Newcastle Disease - which already has shown up in neighboring California. The Oregon Department of Agriculture is conducting extra surveillance in the coming weeks in an effort to protect the state’s various bird industries.

"Newcastle is a serious disease that is very contagious and fatal to all species of birds," said Dr. Gwynn Hallberg, a state veterinarian. "We are concerned because we are not that far from the latest outbreak in Southern California and there is a lot of movement of people and their birds between California and Oregon."

The outbreak in California doesn’t appear to have been widely transmitted, and it has not been detected in commercial flocks. Symptoms of Exotic Newcastle Disease may include sneezing and coughing, diarrhea, drooping wings, and perhaps complete paralysis.

It is spread through direct contact between healthy birds and the bodily discharges of infected birds.

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Daily Oklahoman, OK

REF http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=953659&pic=none&TP=getarticle

California doesn't ask questions of cockfighters

2002-11-29
By Sonya Colberg
The Oklahoman

As opponents scratch at the new anti-cockfighting law in Oklahoma, California is adopting a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy toward cockfighters as the government attempts to knock out a deadly bird disease.

After an exotic Newcastle disease outbreak in late September, door-to-door inspections in Southern California revealed the fatal disease in some backyard birds, including some used in illegal cockfighting, the U.S. Agriculture Department earlier told The Associated Press.

Owners are compensated for birds that must be killed to stop the disease from spreading.

In an interview with The Oklahoman, Agriculture Department spokesman Larry Hawkins could not say whether bird owners are receiving compensation based on the value of fighting birds.

"Nobody stands up and says, 'Hello, I'm a cockfighter,'" Hawkins said.

"We're not trying to seek people out and we're not asking them if they're involved in cockfighting."

It seems to put the government in the odd position of using taxpayer money to compensate owners for birds used in an illegal activity.

California residents may own gamefowl but may not fight them. Cockfighting is banned in 48 states, and experts believe underground cockfighting exists in all those states.

California owners who can produce papers showing a bird's value, regardless of how the bird is used, could receive more compensation than owners who lack documentation, Hawkins said.

In Oklahoma, a fighting hen can be worth more than $1,000, Meeker cockfighter Travis King said. Other birds can average about $100 to $500, compared with a few dollars for a chicken, he said.

Hawkins said, "Our goal is to eradicate exotic Newcastle disease. We are not the cockfighting police."

He said there is a fear illegal cockfighting could spread exotic Newcastle disease, one of the world's most dreaded bird diseases.

The disease affects birds ranging from parrots to chickens. The virus-riddled bird discharges are easily picked up on shoes, then transmitted during bird shows, swap meets, cockfights and by crews that buy or care for poultry.

Newcastle disease has not been found in commercial poultry flocks. The risk is the diseases could hit those flocks, disrupt international trade and plunge the industry into economic devastation. The disease is not considered a threat to human health.

Oklahoma has not been infected but officials are concerned, especially considering the transport of birds used in underground cockfighting, said Jack Carson, a spokesman with the state Agriculture, Food and Forestry Department.

"It would not take very many criminals -- people who continue to move their birds underground -- to spread that disease," Carson said.

In California, state and federal workers already have killed 22,000 birds, Hawkins said. When the disease broke out in commercial poultry flocks in Southern California in 1971, nearly 12 million birds were destroyed. Controlling the threat to the entire U.S. poultry and egg supply cost taxpayers $56 million, according to the federal department.

Hawkins said the infection is concentrated in backyard flocks of chickens, gamefowl, guineas, geese and ducks. The area where sick birds were first found in Southern California has been quarantined and no cases outside that area have been found.

"I wouldn't characterize it as having our hands completely around it, but, it is manageable," he said.

It's suspected the disease might have reached California through birds smuggled in from Mexico, he said.

King said there seems to be no panic over the disease among Oklahoma cockfighters. Cockfighters are more focused on the outcome of the cockfighting ban. The issue is headed to court on constitutional grounds after voters earlier this month approved the ban.

"I'm just hoping," King said. "You're almost grasping at straws now, you know? It's like you've done it all your life and all of a sudden it's over and you don't know how to react yet.

"We just hope and pray that we prevail."

---

The Battalion -TX

REF http://www.thebatt.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/11/27/3de4f1e50b023

Poultry disease has no holiday effect

By Kim Weatherley
November 27, 2002

A recent outbreak of a disease that infects birds, including turkeys, may have worried people who are planning their Thanksgiving dinners, but experts say there is no need for concern.

Southern Californians have recently witnessed the second outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease (END) in more than 30 years. END marks the death of almost 100 percent of affected poultry. According to the USDA Web site, the last recorded epidemic took place in 1971, also in Southern California.

According to the USDA, the effects were so intense that it took the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) more than three years to completely eradicate the outbreak. Almost 12 million birds were destroyed and the whole incident cost taxpayers more than $56 million. In turn, the price of poultry items increased dramatically.

If you're planning on eating turkey this Thanksgiving, this outbreak might make you think twice. However, Bill Mattos of the California Poultry Foundation is quick to point out that there's no risk in enjoying a succulent bird this holiday season.

"It's perfectly safe, " Mattos said. "The disease has not and hopefully will not spread to commercial poultry. It has only been found in backyard flocks thus far."

Even if commercial poultry was affected, as was the case 30 years ago in California, Mattos said, digesting the infected tissue of a chicken or turkey cannot harm the individual eating it. END is strictly a bird disease that cannot be contracted by humans, he said.

Leticia Rico, a spokeswoman for the CDFA, said in the most rare cases, lab technicians and poultry workers came down with conjunctivitis, or pink eye, when introduced to grossly high levels of the disease.

END has not spread to Texas, she said. In the unlikely case of a Texas epidemic, officials said they would like the general public to be informed so they can prevent its spread.

Rico said symptoms of infected birds include sneezing and coughing, nasal discharge and greenish diarrhea. END also affects the reproductive process. If the bird can reproduce at all, it will generate thin-shelled eggs.

She said the virus can be spread through contact with bodily discharges of infected birds. These include droppings and nose, mouth and eye secretions. It is proven to spread more quickly among birds held in confinement, such as those on commercial farms.

Rico said a quarantine is already in place to prevent the spread of the disease. She also states that biosecurity, a form of extreme cleanliness has been sanctioned in the area.

"Workers are asked to thoroughly wash their noses, ears, and hands, change their clothing, and use a disinfecting foot bath before moving from one flock to the next," Rico said.

According to the USDA Web site END vaccinations are being administered to poultry when they hatch, and again roughly two weeks later as an additional precaution. Ironically, according to the Web site, those administering the preventive vaccinations often become the hosts who facilitate the spread of the disease.

Mattos said the problem is expected to be eradicated within a month or two.

---

North County Times, CA

REF http://www.nctimes.net/news/2002/20021127/53519.html

Newcastle disease spreads in Southern California

HENRI BRICKEY and BRADLEY J. FIKES
Staff Writers

North County poultry farmers have so far been spared from a highly contagious bird disease that has prompted a quarantine in Riverside County.

On Oct. 1, Exotic Newcastle disease was discovered in some backyard chickens in a Compton neighborhood. Since then, officials with the state Department of Food and Agriculture have been issuing warnings about the spread of the disease through Southern California. It has been detected as far south as Corona.

Exotic Newcastle is one of the most infectious diseases affecting poultry and has a death rate of almost 100 percent in unvaccinated flocks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It attacks anything from a chicken to an ostrich.

As of Monday, more than 1,100 homes have been quarantined and more than 19,600 birds had been destroyed in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, said Laticia Rico, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Food and Agriculture in Ontario.

The disease poses no threat to humans, but can be catastrophic to poultry populations. Thirty years ago, the disease killed 12 million birds in California, costing the state $56 million in eradication efforts, which lasted for three years.

More recently, the disease resulted in the death of 13 million birds in Mexico two years ago, Rico said.

To prevent the disease from spreading any further, the state Department of Food and Agriculture two weeks ago placed a quarantine over all of Los Angeles County and the western portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The quarantine includes areas throughout Southwest Riverside County, including Temecula, Wildomar, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Menifee and Hemet.

However, no outbreaks of the disease have been reported in San Diego County, local agricultural officials said, so no quarantine or special measures are in place.

Although less agricultural than in previous years, North County still retains several chicken egg ranches, mainly in Valley Center, Escondido and Ramona. The area also contains ostrich farms in Escondido and Valley Center.

The disease most commonly infects chickens, Rico said. Other birds also are susceptible to the disease.

Officials say Exotic Newcastle may have been brought to the area by Amazon parrots, who are known carriers of the disease, but do not show symptoms and can carry the virus for more than 400 days. It's also possible that the disease spread through roosters used in cockfighting circles, officials say. The virus is most commonly spread through contact with the birds' feces.

"We are not allowing people to move their birds or eggs outside the quarantine areas," Rico said.

The quarantine will remain in effect until the disease is wiped out from the state, officials said.

Some people think the disease has already hit Southwest Riverside County and that officials just don't know about it yet.

Clues popping up

Cindy Nelson, owner of Round Up Feed & Grain on Palomar Street in Wildomar, says there are signs that the disease has already spread into Southwest Riverside County.

Recently, six of her chickens died suddenly. Nelson said she thinks Exotic Newcastle is to blame.

"I'm suspecting that's probably what it's from," Nelson said. "They were all doing fine, and then they just dropped dead."

Nelson said she also has had customers come to her with stories about their chickens suddenly dying. To Nelson, these are signs that Exotic Newcastle is already here.

"I'm sure the disease is going to hit here with a boom," she said.

Some residents have already been affected by the disease.

Richard Turnblad, a Murrieta resident who owns Britt Farms, one of the state's largest poultry hatcheries in the Fresno area, said Monday that the threat of Exotic Newcastle disease has forced many changes in his industry.

"It changes how you do business," said Turnblad, whose company sells about 2 million chicks a year to commercial growers. "It's a major concern."

For more information about Exotic Newcastle disease, people can call the California Department of Food and Agriculture at (800) 491-1899.

Contact staff writer Henri Brickey at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or hbrickey@californian.com, and staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.

11/27/02

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San Jose Mercury News, CA

REF http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/4616152.htm

Posted on Wed, Nov. 27, 2002

Glut of turkeys means low prices

POLITICS, SAFETY CONCERNS TAKE BITE OUT OF U.S. EXPORT BUSINESS
By Lisa M. Krieger
Mercury News

Among the traditional bounty of Thanksgiving, there's more this year: cheap turkeys.

Import bans imposed by other countries and domestic overproduction have set the stage for a national holiday that is awash in big birds selling for the lowest price in a decade.

``I hope people eat a lot of turkey this year,'' said Ralph Ernst, poultry specialist at the University of California-Davis, who paid $8 for his 12-pound holiday bird. ``We've got more than we need.''

But the good news for consumers is bad news for farmers, who face export restrictions because of international red tape, questions about processing and fear of avian disease. Domestic experts say consumers should not be worried, but overseas buyers are still steering away from U.S. birds.

Russia, the largest importer of American birds, blocked all shipments of U.S. poultry earlier this spring and has since allowed only a trickle back in. Mexico and some Asian countries have temporarily banned poultry from some parts of the United States. Europe has not bought an American bird for five years, and recently quit buying eggs.

``We've got millions of extra birds this year,'' said Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation.

Wholesale prices for turkeys dropped to 62.5 cents per pound last month, down 11 percent from last year and the lowest October price since 1991, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Resource Service.

Grocery store chains such as Safeway and Albertsons are offering deep discounts on frozen gobblers. Safeway is selling 15-pound birds for under $5 to Safeway Club members; Albertsons Inc. is offering a ``buy one, get one free'' deal.

Spokesmen for both stores say they don't slash prices when wholesale meat prices go down. They make their Thanksgiving promotional plans early in the year, they said.

But many stores stocked up early on the plentiful supply of frozen turkeys, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Turkeys can be safely frozen for months.

Retailers hope that shoppers will arrive to buy discounted turkeys, then fill their shopping carts with holiday trimmings. ``Retailers assume that what they lose on turkeys, they'll make up in other places,'' said Dave Harvey of the USDA's Economic Research Service.

Turkey producers, however, don't have that extra cushion. They have been hit hard by politics, veterinary troubles and questions about how the meat is handled.

American poultry was banned from Russia earlier this year because of various issues in processing, while other countries avoided the meats because of concern over avian influenza and exotic Newcastle disease.

Russia wants U.S. processors to show they are following rules on the use of chemicals, antibiotics and genetically modified ingredients in feed. That country requires lower levels of the antibiotic tetracycline than the United States. And Russia requires extensive testing of birds affected by avian influenza, plus veterinary health certificates.

Mexico has different concerns, telling California and seven other states to keep their birds at home after outbreaks of the flu and, more recently, exotic Newcastle disease. Although Newcastle disease has been confined to three Southern California sites, none of them commercial poultry barns, no one wants a repeat of the epidemic that ravaged California's poultry industry in the 1970s.

The disease outbreaks were enough to persuade the European Union to ban U.S. poultry meat, eggs and live birds. Although Europe has not imported U.S. meat for five years, the ban affects breeders, who ship eggs. Of the four commercial turkey breeders in the world, two are in California: Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farm in Sonoma and Orlopp Turkey Breeding Co. in Orosi.

Finally, China has failed to issue import permits in the timely manner that was envisioned by the U.S-China trade agreement of 1999.

U.S. turkey and chicken growers say that such bans are politically motivated and are not based in sound science. They say these nations are merely trying to raise import barriers; the meat is safe and poses no threat to humans, according to the National Turkey Federation.

While these export bans have not had a big effect on California producers, because they mainly sell fresh turkeys, they have led to a surplus of product nationwide, depressing prices.

To make matters worse, gobblers are slow growers. Turkey farmers plan production at least eight months in advance -- and can't scale down in a sudden surplus. ``If you have too many, you can't just cut back and throw your investment away,'' said UC-Davis' Ernst.

Poultry farmers say now is the time for American shoppers to stock up. ``People should take advantage,'' Mattos said. ``They'll never find prices like this year.''

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contact Lisa M. Krieger at lkrieger@sjmercury.com or (408) 920-5565.

---

North County Times - CA

REF http://www.nctimes.net/news/2002/20021126/51809.html
Article November 26, 2002

Please see links in regard to this article as follow:
Roving Reporter - Dated November 26, 2002
Damage Control - Guest Comments - Dated November 26, 2002

Poultry disease affecting more birds

HENRI BRICKEY
Staff Writer

A month after state and county officials alerted the public that a highly contagious bird disease had been detected in Riverside County, a quarantine is in effect in Southwest County and some residents are worried that the disease has already reached their back yards.

Since Oct. 1, when Exotic Newcastle disease was discovered in some backyard chickens in a Compton neighborhood, officials with the state Department of Food and Agriculture have been issuing warnings about the spread of the disease through Southern California.

Exotic Newcastle is one of the most infectious diseases affecting poultry and has a death rate of almost 100 percent in unvaccinated flocks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The disease poses no threat to humans, but can be catastrophic to poultry populations. Thirty years ago, the disease killed 12 million birds in California, costing the state $56 million in eradication efforts, which lasted for three years.

More recently, the disease resulted in the death of 13 million birds in Mexico two years ago, said Laticia Rico, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Food and Agriculture in Ontario.

The disease most commonly infects chickens, Rico said. Other birds are also susceptible to the disease. Officials say Exotic Newcastle may have been brought to the area by Amazon parrots, who are known carriers of the disease, but do not show symptoms and can carry the virus for more than 400 days. It's also possible that the disease spread through roosters used in cockfighting circles, officials say. The virus is most commonly spread through contact with the birds' feces.

As of Monday, more than 1,100 homes have been quarantined and more than 19,600 birds had been destroyed in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, Rico said. Within Riverside County, the disease has been found in Corona, Mira Loma, Norco, Perris, Moreno Valley and Riverside. To prevent the disease from spreading any further, the state Department of Food and Agriculture two weeks ago placed a quarantine over all of Los Angeles County and the western portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The quarantine includes areas throughout Southwest County, including Temecula, Wildomar, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Menifee and Hemet.

"We are not allowing people to move their birds or eggs outside the quarantine areas," Rico said.

The quarantine will remain in effect until the disease is wiped out from the state, officials said.

Some people think the disease has already hit Southwest County and that officials just don't know about it yet.

Clues popping up

Cindy Nelson, owner of Round Up Feed & Grain on Palomar Street in Wildomar, says there are signs that the disease has already spread into Southwest County.

Recently, six of her chickens died suddenly. Nelson said she thinks Newcastle is to blame.

"I'm suspecting that's probably what it's from," Nelson said. "They were all doing fine and then they just dropped dead."

Nelson said she has also had customers come to her with stories about their chickens suddenly dying. To Nelson, these are signs that Newcastle is already here.

"I'm sure the disease is going to hit here with a boom," she said.

Some residents have already been affected by the disease.

Richard Turnblad, a Murrieta resident who owns Britt Farms, one of the state's largest poultry hatcheries in the Fresno area, said Monday that the threat of Newcastle disease has forced many changes in his industry.

"It changes how you do business," said Turnblad, whose company sells about 2 million chicks a year to commercial growers. "It's a major concern."

Keeping up with bio-security, a means of ensuring that his workers don't unintentionally spread the disease to birds, has been critical in the past month, Turnblad said.

"Our delivery drivers are instructed not to even shake hands with people," he said.

The precautions don't end when poultry employees go home.

"We've explained to our workers that they aren't allowed to have birds," Turnblad said.

If Turnblad's employees have relatives who come into contact with poultry, Turnblad said his employees are asked to find another job. One employee was recently fired when it was discovered that the employee's uncle worked at a poultry plant, Turnblad said.

Other efforts are also under way by poultry feed manufacturers and sellers to inform the public of the risk of Newcastle.

"We've been informed by vendors about the disease," said Robert Pynes, assistant manager of Kahoots Feed and Pet Supply on Ivy Street in Murrieta.

Test results take 21 days

One of Pynes customers recently thought the disease had found its way into her flock of yard birds.

Kimber Cadenhead has about 35 birds on her property in Murrieta and called the Department of Food and Agriculture last week, fearing that a sick turkey may have been infected with Newcastle.

"They came out that day, asked me a lot of questions, put on their white paper suits and tested about seven of my birds for Newcastle," Cadenhead said.

As it turned out, the turkey was suffering from a broken leg. Cadenhead also owns chickens, which were tested for the disease. Results will be available 21 days from when the birds were tested, Cadenhead said she was told.

Until the results come back, none of the birds on Cadenhead's property can be moved, nor can any other birds enter her yard. Despite the inconvenience, Cadenhead said the state is doing the right thing by jumping on any possible cases of Newcastle.

"I think they're doing really good and trying their hardest to take care of it," she said.

For more information about Newcastle disease, people can call the California Department of Food and Agriculture at (800) 491-1899.

Contact staff writer Henri Brickey at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2616 or hbrickey@californian.com.

11/26/02

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Daily Bulletin - Ontario, CA

REF http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~1008547,00.html

Article Last Updated: Saturday, November 23, 2002 - 1:26:18 AM MST

Do you REALLY believe these nest boxes are for chickens? There are "chew" marks around the openings and other areas. Perches are mounted right under the openings in some boxes. California Conservation Corps employee stacks up bird houses where
a bird disease infection was found at a poultry farm in Corona.
(Thomas R. Cordova/Staff Photographer)
Officials attack contagious bird disease
By JOE FLORKOWSKI, STAFF WRITER

California Conservation Corps volunteers cleaned bird coops at a home in rural Riverside County on Friday to demonstrate how federal and state officials are working to prevent the spread of a deadly and highly-contagious bird disease.

Wearing protective clothing and using high-powered hoses, volunteers scrubbed coops to eliminate traces of Exotic Newcastle Disease. Friday's demonstration was conducted to show how contagious the disease is and how officials are fighting it, said Larry Hawkins, spoeksman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Corps volunteer showed media how the home of a man in the 14700 block of Chandler Street in unincorporated Riverside County was quarantined and cleansed.

"Our goal is to minimize the spread of Newcastle Disease so it will not affect birds all over the United States,' Hawkins said. "We need to send the message that it's very easy to spread the virus.'

The USDA, state Department of Food and Agriculture and CCC volunteers have assembled a task force to investigate and cleanse about 1,000 sites in the three-county area that have signs of the disease. The disease, which does not affect humans or poultry or egg products, causes birds to become ill and can be fatal.

Because humans can spread the virus that causes the disease, Corps volunteers have to wear protective clothing to prevent distributing infections.

The disease has already caused federal and state officials to destroy about 15,000 birds in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties since it was first detected in early October, said Larry Hawkins, spokesman for the United States Department of Agriculture.

About two weeks ago, the disease was found among 1,600 birds of homeowner Joao Pires. Because of the highly-infectious nature of the disease, Pires' birds were destroyed along with those of his neighbors.

Salvador Juarez, who lives next to Pires, saw about 80 of his animals destroyed during the operation.

While bird-owners will be reimbursed for the destruction of their animals, Juarez said he can't understand why his chickens, peacocks and pigeons - which had no sign of the disease - were destroyed.

"They were so pretty, my animals,' Juarez said. "They had nothing wrong and they still killed them.'

Watching his animals destroyed was painful, he said.

"You should have seen how I was during that day,' Juarez said. "I felt like crying. I couldn't do anything.'

Although Juarez's animals had no traces of the disease, they had to be destroyed through the orders of veterinarians who said there was a high likelihood nearby animals were infected, Hawkins said.

Annette Whiteford, a veterinary medical officer with the state, said after the birds are destroyed, coops are cleaned with water. Later, chemicals will be brought in to disinfect the site, she said.

It takes between a few days and one to two weeks to eliminate the disease from a site, she said.

Currently, the disease has only been detected in backyard flocks and not in commercial businesses, she said.

Tracking where and how fast the disease is spreading has been difficult because it's only found in the backyard flocks, she said.

"When you're dealing with backyard flocks, it's difficult to see what the extent of the disease is,' she said.

It's unknown how long it will take to eliminate all traces of the disease, Hawkins said.

"If we could go months without additional cases, then we could feel comfortable,' Hawkins said.

Left unchecked, Newcastle can be devastating.

An outbreak of the disease in the early 1970s resulted in the destruction of nearly 12 million birds in California and crippled Southern California poultry production. It cost taxpayers about $56 million to eradicate and increased the prices of poultry products, according to the California Departemnt of Food and Agriculture.

Staff writer Blanca Sanchez contributed to this report.

Joe Florkowski can be reached by e-mail atjoe.florkowski@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 597-6389.

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San Bernardino County Sun - CA

REF http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%257E12588%257E1008495,00.html

Article Last Updated: Saturday, November 23, 2002 - 1:20:08 AM MST

Feds, state show effects of bird disease in rural areas
By JOE FLORKOWSKI, Staff Writer

California Conservation Corps volunteers cleaned bird coops at a home in rural Riverside County on Friday to demonstrate how federal and state officials are working to prevent the spread of a deadly and highly contagious bird disease.

Wearing protective clothing and using high-powered hoses, volunteers scrubbed coops to eliminate traces of Exotic Newcastle Disease.

Friday's demonstration was conducted to show how contagious the disease is and how officials are fighting it, said Larry Hawkins, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Corps volunteers showed members of the media how the home of a man in the 14700 block of Chandler Street in unincorporated Riverside County was quarantined and cleaned.

"Our goal is to minimize the spread of Newcastle Disease so it will not affect birds all over the United States,' Hawkins said. "We need to send the message that it's very easy to spread the virus.'

The USDA, state Department of Food and Agriculture and California Conservation Corps volunteers have assembled a task force to investigate and clean about 1,000 sites in the three-county area that have signs of the disease.

The disease, which does not affect humans or poultry or egg products, causes birds to become ill and can be fatal.

Because humans can spread the virus that causes the disease, Corps volunteers have to wear protective clothing to prevent distributing infections.

The disease has already caused federal and state officials to destroy about 15,000 birds in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties since it was first detected in early October, said Larry Hawkins, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

About two weeks ago, the disease was found among 1,600 birds of homeowner Joao Pires. Because of the highly infectious nature of the disease, Pires' birds were destroyed, along with those of his neighbors.

Salvador Juarez, who lives next to Pires, saw about 80 of his birds were destroyed during the operation.

While owners will be reimbursed for the destruction of their birds, Juarez said, he can't understand why his chickens, peacocks and pigeons, which had no sign of the disease, were destroyed.

"They were so pretty, my animals,' Juarez said. "They had nothing wrong and they still killed them.'

Watching his animals destroyed was painful, he said.

"You should have seen how I was during that day,' Juarez said. "I felt like crying. I couldn't do anything.'

Although Juarez's animals had no traces of the disease, they had to be destroyed on orders of veterinarians who said there was a high likelihood nearby animals were infected, Hawkins said.

Annette Whiteford, a veterinary medical officer with the state, said after the birds are destroyed, coops are cleaned with water, as they were on Friday. Later, chemicals will be brought in to disinfect the site, she said.

It takes between a few days and two weeks to eliminate the disease from a site, she said.

The disease has been detected only in backyard flocks so far, she said not at commercial businesses.

Tracking where and how fast the disease is spreading has been difficult because it's only found in the backyard flocks, she said.

"When you're dealing with backyard flocks, it's difficult to see what the extent of the disease is,' she said.

It's unknown how long it will take to eliminate all traces of the disease, Hawkins said.

"If we could go months without additional cases, then we could feel comfortable,' Hawkins said.

Left unchecked, Newcastle can be devastating.

An outbreak of the disease in the early 1970s resulted in the destruction of nearly 12 million birds in California and crippled Southern California poultry production. It cost taxpayers about $56 million to eradicate and raised the prices of poultry products, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

---

Daily Bulletin - Ontario, CA

http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203%7E21481%7E1003914,00.html

Article Last Updated: Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 1:56:59 AM MST

State destroys backyard birds to stop deadly virus
By DAVID BRADVICA, STAFF WRITER

State agricultural workers have destroyed 14,000 backyard birds in Southern California in an attempt to limit an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease, a fast-spreading virus that kills fowl.

Late last week state agricultural officials clamped a regional quarantine on poultry in Los Angeles and western Riverside and San Bernardino counties after finding infection sites in Chino and San Bernardino and several different locations in Riverside County, said Leticia Rico, spokeswoman for the state Department of Food and Agriculture.

Rico could not specify where Newcastle outbreaks were discovered in San Bernardino and Chino. In recent days, state agricultural workers destroyed hundreds of birds -- by placing them in cylinders that are then filled with carbon dioxide -- in the Mira Loma area of Riverside County, just south of the San Bernardino County line.

Infected birds were first detected in Compton in southern Los Angeles County in early October.

Most of the destroyed birds have been backyard pets such as geese, ducks, parakeets and chickens. Rico said.

"These are birds with a name,' Rico said. "Our hearts go out to the people who own them.'

The Newcastle virus cannot be transmitted to humans and poses no threat to public health and does not affect the safety of poultry or eggs. However, the virus is extremely hardy -- surviving for several days in bird feces and sometimes unwittingly spread by humans who step in the feces -- and almost all cases end in death. There is no known treatment for the disease, which affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems of the infected birds.

So far untouched by the outbreak are the numerous commercial egg operations in the quarantine zone. Riverside County is the top egg producing-county in the state, and several commercial egg operations are in Chino and southern Ontario.

In 1971, an outbreak of Newcastle that started in Fontana spread throughout California, threatening the entire U.S. poultry and egg industry. Almost 12 million birds were euthanized in eradication efforts, which cost $56 million and took three years to complete.

Newcastle has not infected commercial chicken flocks in the United States since that outbreak, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

David Bradvica can be reached by e-mail atd_bradvica@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9318.

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Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - CA

Article Last Updated: Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 1:56:59 AM MST

REF http://news.google.com/news?q=exotic+newcastle&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=G&scoring=d

State destroys backyard birds to stop deadly virus

By DAVID BRADVICA, STAFF WRITER

State agricultural workers have destroyed 14,000 backyard birds in Southern California in an attempt to limit an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease, a fast-spreading virus that kills fowl.

Late last week state agricultural officials clamped a regional quarantine on poultry in Los Angeles and western Riverside and San Bernardino counties after finding infection sites in Chino and San Bernardino and several different locations in Riverside County, said Leticia Rico, spokeswoman for the state Department of Food and Agriculture.

Rico could not specify where Newcastle outbreaks were discovered in San Bernardino and Chino. In recent days, state agricultural workers destroyed hundreds of birds -- by placing them in cylinders that are then filled with carbon dioxide -- in the Mira Loma area of Riverside County, just south of the San Bernardino County line.

Infected birds were first detected in Compton in southern Los Angeles County in early October.

Most of the destroyed birds have been backyard pets such as geese, ducks, parakeets and chickens. Rico said.

"These are birds with a name,' Rico said. "Our hearts go out to the people who own them.'

The Newcastle virus cannot be transmitted to humans and poses no threat to public health and does not affect the safety of poultry or eggs. However, the virus is extremely hardy -- surviving for several days in bird feces and sometimes unwittingly spread by humans who step in the feces -- and almost all cases end in death. There is no known treatment for the disease, which affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems of the infected birds.

So far untouched by the outbreak are the numerous commercial egg operations in the quarantine zone. Riverside County is the top egg producing-county in the state, and several commercial egg operations are in Chino and southern Ontario.

In 1971, an outbreak of Newcastle that started in Fontana spread throughout California, threatening the entire U.S. poultry and egg industry. Almost 12 million birds were euthanized in eradication efforts, which cost $56 million and took three years to complete.

Newcastle has not infected commercial chicken flocks in the United States since that outbreak, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

David Bradvica can be reached by e-mail atd_bradvica@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9318.

---

KNBC-TC - Los Angeles, CA

REF http://www.nbc4.tv/news/1795796/detail.html

Hundreds Of Birds Destroyed In Farm Raid
Raid Triggered By Discovery Of Newcastle Disease

POSTED: 5:50 p.m. PST November 19, 2002
UPDATED: 6:02 p.m. PST November 19, 2002

MIRA LOMA, Calif. -- State agriculture inspectors raided chicken farms in a one-mile-square section of Riverside County Tuesday and destroyed hundreds of birds due to a new outbreak of Newcastle disease.


Empty cages are all that remain at Joseph Ravida's exotic bird-breeding business in Mira Loma.

Ravida said he was devastated because all of his birds were gassed and hauled away in garbage cans.

"They just came to my door... and notified me that every bird, every bird has to be killed," said Ravida.

Tuesday's raid was triggered by a discovery of some diseased birds at a nearby illegal cock-fighting operation.

Newcastle disease cannot be transmitted to humans and is not a threat to human public health.

Copyright 2002 by NBC4.tv. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

---

Riverside Press-Enterprise - CA
November 20, 2002
REF http://news.google.com/news?q=exotic+newcastle&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=G&scoring=d

Fowl killed to control Newcastle
DISEASE: State workers swarm across a Mira Loma neighborhood after a flock tested positive.

11/20/2002

By SANDRA STOKLEY
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

MIRA LOMA - State agriculture workers swept through a Mira Loma neighborhood Monday and Tuesday, killing hundreds of chickens, ducks and geese and leaving their owners stunned and distraught.

State agriculture officials were trying to prevent the spread of the highly contagious exotic Newcastle disease. The deadly virus kills chickens and other birds.

"They just came to my door, knocked and said 'We have to kill everything on your place,' " Joseph Ravida said as he broke down in sobs. "It's horrible. I can't go out and look at what they're doing."

Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise A worker carries away a goose from a home.
State agricultural workers are in Mira Loma
trying to prevent the spread of Newcastle disease.

Ravida spoke as workers clad in white coveralls, caps and masks swarmed his property and his neighbor's Tuesday morning. They killed some birds on the spot and hauled other live ones away to be euthanized. A goose in a trash bag honked plaintively as a worker carried it away.

Leticia Rico, spokeswoman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said a 1 kilometer area in Mira Loma was under quarantine because of possible Newcastle cases. She would not specify the area or how many birds had been euthanized. Rico said she could not elaborate because of the continuing investigation.

Ravida, who breeds and shows champion birds, owns Jay Cee Ranch on Etiwanda Avenue, just south of Limonite Avenue. Ravida estimated he lost more than 185 birds, many of them rare and exotic. Mira Loma is an unincorporated rural community in western Riverside County.

Adriana Gill, who lives half a block from Ravida, and other residents had state documents explaining that workers were imposing a quarantine because of possible exposure to Newcastle. The virus cannot be transmitted to humans and poses no threat to public health.

Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise
A goose attempts to flee a worker who
catches another goose at a Mira Loma residence.

Agriculture officials said they are trying to protect commercial egg ranches in Riverside County.

Six ranches in Riverside County -- one in Norco, two in San Jacinto, two in Lakeview and one in Cherry Valley -- earned $56 million in revenue in 2001, according to Dusty Wiley, Riverside's deputy agricultural commissioner.

"Riverside County is the number one egg producer in the state of California," Wiley said.

A major outbreak of the disease started in Fontana in 1971 and spread throughout California, threatening the entire U. S. poultry and egg industry.

Gill said a veterinarian with the Department of Food and Agriculture came to her door Saturday and advised her that her birds were being quarantined because of the outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease. The order meant she could not remove her fowl from the area.

State officials returned Monday morning with a destroy order, Gill said.

"I was in disbelief," Gill said.

Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise Adrianna Gill of Mira Loma had to give up a rooster,
a goose, three ducks and three hens to state agricultural workers.

She said officials asked how much her birds were worth. She was at a loss on how to answer.

"How do I put a value on my animals," she asked. "They're pets."

Gill, who received $270, said workers used a net to catch her ducks and chickens but she carried her beloved 8-year-old goose "Baby" to the workers' truck.

"I couldn't let them take Baby away in a net. I had to give him more dignity," she said as tears streamed down her face. "I carried him out and kissed him goodbye."

Jim Smith said he lost 11 chickens.

"They took the birds alive on Monday," Smith said. "I wouldn't let them kill them here. They were pets. I'd walk out in the yard and yell and they'd come running. They were that tame."

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

---

Sarasota Herald-Tribune - FL, Press-Enterprise - CA, Walnut Creek Journal - CA
November 20, 2002
REF http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20021120&Category=APN&ArtNo=211200614&Ref=AR
REF http://www.pe.com/ap_news/California/CA_Poultry_Disease_89690C.shtml
REF http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/4561923.htm

Hundreds of pet chickens, ducks, geese killed to stop spread of disease

The Associated Press

State agriculture workers killed hundreds of pet chickens, ducks and geese in this rural area to stop the spread of the contagious Exotic Newcastle disease.

Earlier this month, a poultry quarantine was issued in Los Angeles County and western portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties for the disease. Since October, more than 450 poultry yards have been quarantined and nearly 12,000 birds have been destroyed in the three-county area.

On Tuesday, state agricultural workers raided farms and ranches in this community about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. They killed some birds on the spot and hauled others away in plastic trash bags.

"They just came to my door, knocked and said, 'We have to kill everything on your place,'" Joseph Ravida said as he broke down in sobs.

"It's horrible. I can't go out and look at what they're doing."

Ravida, who breeds and shows champion birds, owns Jay Cee Ranch. He estimated he lost more than 185 rare birds.

The virus cannot be transmitted to humans and poses no public threat.

It does pose a threat to Riverside County's commercial egg ranches. Last year, six ranches in Norco, San Jacinto, Lakeview and Cherry Valley earned $56 million in revenue.

"Riverside County is the number one egg producer in the state of California," said Dusty Wiley, Riverside's deputy agricultural commissioner.

Newcastle disease ravaged California's poultry industry in the 1970s, costing $56 million to eradicate. It can be transmitted through feces, feed, cages and other materials and can become airborne.

Adriana Gill, who lives half a block from Jay Cee Ranch, received $270 before workers used a net to catch her pet ducks and chickens. She carried her 8-year-old goose, Baby, to the workers' truck.

"I couldn't let them take Baby away in a net. I had to give him more dignity," she said tearfully. "I carried him out and kissed him goodbye."

Last modified: November 20. 2002 3:48AM

San Bernardino County Sun - CA
November 14, 2002
REF http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208%257E12588%257E989352,00.html

Newcastle disease hits birds throughout SoCal
By ALAN SCHNEPF, Staff Writer

Parts of San Bernardino County were included in a widening poultry quarantine.

To quell the spread of a potentially devastating disease, the State Veterinarian has put an indefinite quarantine on poultry in Los Angeles County and parts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Exotic Newcastle disease, one of the most infectious ailments that can hit poultry flocks, has been detected in 131 backyard coops in Southern California. So far, it has not made its way into the flocks owned by nervous farmers who witnessed the disease decimate millions of birds in the early 1970s.

Poultry, including chickens, turkeys, ducks, grouse, geese, partridges, pheasants, quail and ostriches, cannot be moved out of the quarantine area.

The animals can be moved within the area, however, under rules set by the State Veterinarian.

Carol Cardona, a poultry extension veterinarian at UC Davis, said the quarantine serves a dual purpose. First, officials want to stamp out the disease. Second, international trading partners are becoming skittish about U.S. poultry.

Several countries and world regions Poland, Canada, the European Union, the Philippines, Japan and others have placed restrictions on poultry from Southern California. Some countries are banning poultry from the entire state. Argentina currently doesn't accept poultry from anywhere in the United States.

The quarantine was not expected to affect Thanksgiving turkey sales because no commercial turkey or chicken growers operate within the quarantine area.

The disease can be deadly to poultry, but humans cannot contract it, said California Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Leticia Rico. In rare cases, when people have been exposed to high levels of the disease, they have contracted the treatable eye-virus conjunctivitis.

Under the quarantine, owners of commercial poultry must immediately report any signs of the disease and any unexpected decrease in egg production. All eggs from those farms must be washed and sanitized before being shipped.

Egg farms are big business in Southern California, particularly in the inland areas. Riverside County led the state in production last year with an egg crop valued at $56 million.

Since October, nearly 12,000 birds have been destroyed in the three-county area to eradicate the disease, Rico said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

---

The Salt Lake Tribune - UT

REF http://www.sltrib.com/11142002/nation_w/16421.htm

California Expands Poultry Quarantine to Contain Disease
Thursday, November 14, 2002

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES -- Officials expanded a poultry quarantine Wednesday in three Southern California counties that was imposed after an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle disease in noncommercial birds. The disease is fatal in poultry but humans cannot contract it. The quarantine was initially imposed Oct. 1 on individual poultry yards in Los Angeles County and western portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. It was expanded to cover all of Los Angeles County and the same areas in the two other counties, said California Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Leticia Rico. The quarantine was not expected to affect Thanksgiving turkey sales because no commercial growers operate within the quarantine area.

---

Riverside Press Enterprises - CA, Newsday.com

REF http://www.pe.com/localnews/statenews/stories/PE_STATE_1114_poultry.4812144.html
REF http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-poultry-disease1114nov13,0,2819384.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

State expands poultry quarantine
11/14/2002

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Officials expanded a poultry quarantine Wednesday in three Southern California counties that was imposed after an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease in noncommercial birds.

The quarantine was initially imposed Oct. 1 on individual poultry yards in Los Angeles County and western portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

It was expanded to cover all of Los Angeles County and the same areas in the two other counties, said California Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Leticia Rico.

The quarantine was not expected to affect Thanksgiving turkey sales because no commercial growers operate within the quarantine area.

The disease is fatal in poultry but humans cannot contract it. In rare cases, humans have contracted conjunctivitis when exposed to high levels of the disease.

Exotic Newcastle ravaged California's poultry industry in the 1970s, costing $56 million to eradicate.

Since October, more than 450 poultry yards have been quarantined and nearly 12,000 birds have been destroyed, Rico said.

Signs of the disease include sneezing, coughing, gasping for air, drooping wings, muscular tremors, paralysis and sudden death.

---

Riverside Press Enterprises - CA

Inland birds destroyed
CLEANUP: The outbreak of Newcastle disease prompts the state's action at a ranch near Perris.

REF http://www.pe.com/localnews/morenovalley/stories/PE_NEWS_nmbirds14.58f1a.html

11/14/2002

By GUY McCARTHY
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

PERRIS - A recent outbreak in the Inland area of the exotic Newcastle disease that ravaged California's poultry industry 30 years ago kept state agriculture workers busy Wednesday.

While authorities tried to enforce a quarantine on the movement of poultry and other birds in Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties, workers continued cleaning up ranches and yards where thousands of birds have been destroyed in recent weeks.

About 20 California Conservation Corps workers wore white masks, caps and overalls as they continued their cleanup at a ranch on Post Road in the Good Hope area west of Perris. State officials estimated about 1,600 chickens, game fowl and pigeons were euthanized at the ranch on Oct. 23.

"This place was identified as a possible source of Newcastle disease," said Vince Bravo of the Conservation Corps' Inland Empire service district. "There were reports of chickens being infected and dying."

A California Department of Food and Agriculture official at the ranch would not discuss specifics. Another department official in Sacramento said she could not comment either.

"As long as the investigation at that location is continuing, we can't release any specific information," said Leticia Rico, a spokeswoman for the state agriculture agency.

Rico estimated that an additional 100 birds were euthanized at locations in the Good Hope area, though she could not be specific about the number.

At the Post Road ranch, the destroyed birds, their feces and other debris from the cleanup have been stored in two large steel containers in the middle of a field. Workers have dismantled, scraped and disinfected the birds' cages and coops, Bravo said.

A man who identified himself as the owner of the ranch said he had been compensated by the state for the birds that were destroyed. He would not give his name, and state authorities would not identify him.

"I'm a hobbyist. This is a hobby, not commercial," the man said. "Everybody's who's got poultry should have it tested."

So far, birds infected with the Newcastle virus have been found only in hobby ranches and yards, the state agriculture officials said. No commercial operations have been affected.

The Newcastle virus cannot be transmitted to humans, and there is no threat to public health. But the Newcastle outbreak in the early 1970s cost $56 million and boosted poultry prices. Nearly 12 million chickens were destroyed.

Neighbor George Munoz, 44, said he doesn't own any poultry, but he's concerned the disease could be spread by pigeons that roost on a nearby tower.

"I don't have any chickens," Munoz said. Gesturing toward the pigeons on the tower, he said, "They worry me, though. I'm going to ask the officials about it."

Munoz has dogs, but he said he wasn't concerned about them catching or spreading the disease.

Another neighbor, Michelle Watts, 33, said she'd already had a visit from state officials about the cleanup.

"They came and told us about the disease," Watts said. "We have some doves, but that's it. We're not concerned about it."

The hotline for information about Newcastle disease is (800) 491-1899.

Reach Guy McCarthy at (909) 567-2408 or gmccarthy@pe.com

---

Riverside Press Enterprises
November 13, 2002
REF http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_NEWS_naquar13.a14aa.html

Ruling restricts poultry
QUARANTINE: The effort to stop Newcastle disease affects the Inland area and Los Angeles County.

11/13/2002

By LESLIE BERKMAN
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

Redoubling efforts to stop the spread of deadly exotic Newcastle disease, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said starting today it will enforce a quarantine on Los Angeles County and western Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Larry Hawkins, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the state quarantine is intended primarily to restrict the movement of poultry and other bird species kept by hobbyists.

So far, birds infected with the exotic Newcastle virus have been found only in back yards. No commercial poultry operations have been affected. However, the disease ravaged California's poultry industry in the 1970s, costing $56 million to eradicate.

Egg farms are a big business in the Inland Empire. Riverside County led the state in production last year with an egg crop valued at $56 million, while San Bernardino County's egg production topped $26 million.

Hawkins said the quarantine is also aimed at reestablishing the confidence of foreign markets in California and U.S poultry. Industry experts say Inland Empire eggs or poultry are rarely exported because the region consumes more eggs than it produces.

However, after exotic Newcastle disease was reported in Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties in early October, a number of nations banned the import of certain poultry products or live turkeys and chickens from California and, in some instances, from anywhere in the United States. Those countries include the Philippines, Guam, Argentina, Taiwan, Canada, Poland, Korea, Japan and the European Union.

State agricultural officials immediately responded to the latest exotic Newcastle outbreak by quarantining individual yards where sick birds were found and destroying birds that were infected or exposed to the disease.

Leticia Rico, spokeswoman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said as of Tuesday, 432 yards had been quarantined and more than 11,000 birds destroyed in the three-county area.

Rico said the individual quarantines will remain, with no birds allowed to be moved out of affected yards. In addition, she said, now noncommercial owners of turkeys, ducks, geese, partridges, pheasants, quail, Guinea fowl, pea fowl, doves, pigeons, grouse, swans and ratites are prohibited from moving those birds outside the new regional quarantine.

Also managers of bird shows and swap meets within the quarantine boundaries must sign a compliance agreement with the state guaranteeing that only healthy birds and those that have been legally imported or raised in the United States will be sold or exhibited.

"A lot of bird clubs can hold meetings. But we are recommending caution," Rico said. "The disease spreads where birds congregate, and it is a real high risk they are taking."

Commercial egg producers and poultry meat producers already are enforcing the biosanitary measures stipulated by the new quarantine, said Hawkins.

Dustin Wiley, Riverside County deputy agricultural commissioner, and Grif Thomas, supervising agricultural standards officer for the San Bernardino County Agricultural Commissioner, said sanitation procedures are already in place at Inland Empire poultry farms. The quarantine formalizes the process, they said.

Under the quarantine regulations, commercial poultry owners also will be required to report to the state veterinarian weekly on the health of their flocks and to immediately report any symptoms of Newcastle disease or any unexpected increases in bird mortality or decreases in egg production.

In addition, eggs must be sanitized and specially packed before they are shipped out of the quarantine area. Rico said egg farms within the quarantine that ship old hens to central California for slaughter must also sign compliance agreements with the state that require them to create a state-approved biosecurity program.

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

---

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Posted on Wed, Nov. 13, 2002

Calif. Expands Poultry Quarantine
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Officials expanded a poultry quarantine Wednesday in three Southern California counties that was imposed after an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease in noncommercial birds.

The quarantine was initially imposed Oct. 1 on individual poultry yards in Los Angeles County and western portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

It was expanded to cover all of Los Angeles County and the same areas in the two other counties, said California Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Leticia Rico.

The quarantine was not expected to affect Thanksgiving turkey sales because no commercial growers operate within the quarantine area.

The disease is fatal in poultry but humans cannot contract it. In rare cases, humans have contracted conjunctivitis when exposed to high levels of the disease.

Exotic Newcastle ravaged California's poultry industry in the 1970s, costing $56 million to eradicate.

Since October, more than 450 poultry yards have been quarantined and nearly 12,000 birds have been destroyed, Rico said.

Signs of the disease include sneezing, coughing, gasping for air, drooping wings, muscular tremors, paralysis and sudden death.

---

Same article appears in Piedmonter, Walnut Creek Journal and San Francisco Chronicle

Posted on Wed, Nov. 13, 2002

California expands quarantine on poultry - 12:01 PST Los Angeles

REF http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/4510985.htm
REF http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/4510985.htm
REF http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/11/13/state1501EST0091.DTL

LOS ANGELES (AP) - State agricultural officials expanded a poultry quarantine on Wednesday in three Southern California counties after an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle disease was detected among noncommercial birds.

The quarantine was not expected to affect Thanksgiving turkey sales because no commercial turkey or chicken growers operate within the quarantine area, which includes Los Angeles County and western portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, officials said.

No cases of the disease have been reported on commercial farms. Still, the quarantine targets all operations that raise turkeys, chickens, ducks, geese, partridges, pheasants and pigeons.

The disease can be deadly to poultry but humans cannot contract it, said California Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Leticia Rico. In rare cases, when people have been exposed to high levels of the disease, they have contracted the treatable eye virus conjunctivitis.

Under the quarantine, owners of commercial poultry must immediately report any signs of the disease and any unexpected decrease in egg production. All eggs from those farms must be washed and sanitized before being shipped.

Egg farms are big business in Southern California, particularly in the inland areas. Riverside County led the state in production last year with an egg crop valued at $56 million.

Newcastle disease ravaged California's poultry industry in the 1970s, costing $56 million to eradicate. It can be transmitted through feces, feed, cages and other materials and can become airborne.

Since October, more than 450 poultry yards have been quarantined and nearly 12,000 birds have been destroyed in the three-county area, Rico said.

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