3rd Commercial Poultry Flock found with Newcastle Disease in CA

California has had its third case of virulent Newcastle disease (vND) in a commercial poultry flock, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Serviceconfirmed on January 10.

According to a press release from APHIS, the latest case occurred in a commercial layer flock. While the agency has not yet revealed how many birds were in the flock, an update on the United Egg Producers website stated APHIS did know it included at least 100,000 birds and was within 5 miles of a previously affected flock. Like California’s other two commercial poultry flocks to be affected by vND, the third case was located in Riverside County.

Prior to these findings, vND, formerly known as exotic Newcastle disease, had not been confirmed in a commercial poultry operation in the United States since 2003. This finding of vND is part of an outbreak in southern California that began in May 2018 in backyard exhibition birds. In addition to Riverside County, vND has also been confirmed in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.