| Kimberley Smith | (301) 734-6464 |
| Jerry Redding | (202) 720-6959 |
Secretary Veneman Declares Extraordinary Emergency
WASHINGTON, April 11, 2003--The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that it has quarantined El Paso and Hudspeth counties, Texas, and Dona Ana, Luna and Otero counties, N.M., due to detections of exotic Newcastle disease (END).
Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman declared an extraordinary animal disease emergency that allows USDA to take any necessary actions to prevent the spread of END.
END, a contagious and fatal viral disease that affects all species of birds, was confirmed in backyard poultry on a premises in El Paso, Texas, on April 9. USDA's quarantine restricts the movement of birds, poultry, products and materials that could spread END from the area.
USDA, working cooperatively with the state of Texas, has sent a team of veterinarians and other personnel to the state to prevent the spread of the disease. This team will begin identifying infected flocks, imposing quarantines, euthanizing and disposing of birds when appropriate and cleaning and disinfecting infected sites. USDA is also providing educational information to community residents and the poultry industry.
END, which does not pose a significant health risk to humans, is one the most infectious poultry diseases in the world, with a death rate of almost 100 percent in unvaccinated poultry flocks. The disease is spread primarily through direct contact between healthy birds or poultry and the bodily discharges of infected birds or poultry.
For more information on END, visit USDA's Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Services'
Web site at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/enc/exoticnc.html.
Notice of this action was effective April 10, and is scheduled to appear in the April 16 Federal Register. APHIS documents published in the Federal Register and related information, including the names of organizations and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
Consideration will be given to comments received on or before June 16. Comments may be submitted by postal mail, commercial delivery or by e-mail. Send an original and three copies of postal or commercial delivery comments to Docket No. 02-117-5, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1238. If you use e-mail, address your comments to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Comments must be contained in the body of the message; do not send attached files. Please include your name and address in the message and use "Docket No. 02-117-5" on the subject line.
Comments may be reviewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays Persons wishing to review comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
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Source: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/news/2003/04/quaranareas_vs.html
FRESNO – Despite a drop in egg
production after the outbreak of a deadly bird disease, there will be plenty of
eggs for Easter. But in California, at least, people trying to buy chicks for
the holiday may have a harder time.
The state Department of Food and Agriculture is requiring swap meets and feed
and pet stores to sign an agreement detailing new regulations before selling the
birds, to prevent a spread of the exotic Newcastle disease.
The new rules include requiring store owners to keep the birds in pens and
away from the public. They also require owners to maintain sales records for six
months, including names and addresses of chicken hatcheries and store customers,
causing some to forego the fowl altogether.
Doves, ducks, geese, grouse, fowl, ostriches, partridges, pheasants, quail,
pigeons, ratites, swans and turkeys also are affected by the new rules.
Laverne Papagni, of Heiskell's Feed Depo in Visalia, is one of several store
managers who have decided to stop selling chicks because she said it's too much
trouble keeping track of the 1,500 to 2,000 birds she normally sells between now
and July.
"We would have to fill out quite a few forms," she said.
State agriculture officials imposed the new rules last month after an
outbreak of Newcastle disease, which spreads through manure, mucus and eggs. The
virus poses no threat to humans.
Nearly 3.4 million birds have been slaughtered in California since October,
when the disease was discovered in a backyard flock. So far, state and federal
officials have spent $73 million to fight the disease, which has spread to
Arizona, Nevada and possibly Texas.
State and federal agriculture officials have declared states of emergency
across Southern California and expanded the quarantine zone for the disease.
The quarantine prohibits the movement without approval of all poultry,
poultry products and nesting materials in areas hardest hit by Newcastle – Los
Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and
Imperial counties.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has quarantined birds and
poultry in three New Mexico counties and two Texas counties after tests showed a
backyard flock of chickens near El Paso carried the Newcastle disease.
While many feed and pet store owners have opted against selling chicks
because of the intensive record keeping, some are still willing.
Rodney Evangelho Jr., owner of Evangelho Seed and Farm Store in Lemoore, is
among those because he says it's his busiest time of year. Many in the San
Joaquin Valley buy the birds for food – both eggs and meat.
"Our most popular are the laying hens, which are the Road Island Reds and
Iraucana, which they claim is the Easter chicken because the egg shells are blue
and green," he said.
California's egg production is down after the slaughter of more than 3
million laying hens, but the exotic Newcastle hasn't hurt egg supplies because
the state receives eggs from Iowa, Ohio and other top egg-producing states.
Though California is the nation's fifth-largest egg producer, the state
doesn't have enough egg producers to supply its 34 million residents. Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20030411-0116-easter-poultrydisease.html