Abstract
Question: I am finding it difficult to
locate information on Newcastle Disease.
Specifically, I would like to know
the answers to the following questions:
A. Where does the disease originate
from and how is it spread? Are songbirds
resistant?
B. Are birds that are indigenous to
America susceptible to the disease?
C. There are a large number of birds
smuggled into this country each year.
Since Newcastle Disease is rarely heard
of, is it really relatively scarce and just
an attempt by the government to control
the citizens?
D. Is the whole Newcastle thing just
a creation of the poultry lobby and
actually an attempt of bureaucracy to
prevent new bloodlines from entering
into our bird collections through illegal
means?
P. Overhage, Arizona
Answer #1: A. There are four major
strains of Newcastle Disease recognized
in the United States. These classifications
vary slightly in other countries.
Three strains are endemic in the
United States. The most virulent form,
exotic Newcastle Disease or VVND
(Viscerotropic Velogenic Newcastle
Disease), was the first foreign disease
eradicated from the United States following
a devastating outbreak in 1972.
It is interesting to note that this eradication
program, which involved large
numbers of cage and aviary birds in
addition to millions of poultry, gave....