Defra contains ND outbreak

Measures implemented by Defra last month appear to have halted the spread of the Newcastle Disease outbreak.

The only confirmed case to date has been in pheasants on a Surrey farm and tests carried out on other premises in the protection zone failed to find any evidence of the disease. Defra says it is till receiving notifications of suspected cases but viewed this as positive, saying it showed that farmers and gamekeepers were remaining vigilant to any signs of disease. As the Ranger went to press, officials were investigating a suspected case in Surrey, again in pheasants.

Defra believes the origin of the Surrey outbreak was a single importation of pheasants from premises in the Loire-Atlantique region of France and UK officials worked closely with their counterparts in France to minimise the risk of spread.

With the outbreak showing signs of being under control Defra have begun to relax the restrictions first imposed, including the lifting of the protection zone and a reduction in the size of the surveillance zone.

If all goes as planned the surveillance zone should be lifted later this month but, assuming there are no further outbreaks, it will be January next year before the UK regains international ‘country freedom’ status from ND. The infected premises in Surrey remain under restriction and are undergoing cleaning and disinfection. The farm will only be permitted to re-stock with vaccinated pheasants after a suitable period of rest.

Lessons learned

Defra has worked closely with the poultry industry during the outbreak, holding regular ‘stakeholder’ meetings, and is now keen to learn from the experience.

A ‘Lessons Learned’ exercise is due to be carried out by the State Veterinary Service Contingency Planning Division, and a full report will be published later this year.

“Any lessons will clearly be important for Defra and for stakeholders,” said a government official, “both in their implications directly for Newcastle Disease, and Avian Influenza.”

Defra has asked stakeholders to feed back information on:

• The control operation in the field, follow-up reports and findings.

• Structures and organisation in London.

• Central communications and information flows.

• International relations and trade impacts.

• The game bird industry and trade patterns.

“We want comments on what when well, and why, as well as things that could have been done better,” says Defra.