Scotland investigates potential ND case

Scottish government vets are investigating a possible case of Newcastle disease in East Lothian, although the government says there is no significant threat to public health from the affected poultry flock.

There is no suspicion of an avian flu link.

The premises involved has been quarantined while laboratory tests are carried out.

If the flock is confirmed positive, it will be culled and contacts with other farms will be investigated. Restricted zones could also be established, with a 1.8-mile protection zone and a six-mile surveillance zone around the infected premises.

The last known outbreak of Newcastle disease in the UK was in July 2005, when a large flock of pheasants was culled near Surrey.

Newcastle disease symptoms in birds include sneezing, gasping for air, nasal discharge, coughing, and a greenish, watery diarrhoea. It can lead to sudden death and an increased death loss in a flock. There is no danger to humans eating meat from a chicken affected by the disease.

Newcastle disease is listed as a notifiable disease under Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs guidelines, meaning a suspected outbreak has to be reported as soon as possible.

In April this year, the potentially fatal H5N1 strain of bird flu was confirmed in a dead swan found in Fife. It led to a wild bird risk area covering 1,000 square miles being set up in eastern Scotland around the discovery site at Cellardyke.

Despite reports of large numbers of dead birds after news of the outbreak, all subsequent tests on carcasses across the country proved negative. The wild bird risk area was lifted on 1 May.

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Editor WorldPoultry