{"id":94336,"date":"2018-07-25T15:22:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T15:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=a15910b166b5c92e6ad79922f3373cd8"},"modified":"2018-07-25T15:22:00","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T15:22:00","slug":"press-release-poultry-keepers-urged-to-be-vigilant-of-newcastle-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=94336","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Poultry keepers urged to be vigilant of Newcastle Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>Poultry keepers across the United Kingdom have been urged to be vigilant of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/newcastle-disease\">Newcastle Disease<\/a> following reported cases in flocks across Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Recent cases in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg have led to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/animal-and-plant-health-agency\">Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)<\/a> experts to advise that the risk of the disease in UK flocks has risen from \u2018low\u2019 to \u2018medium\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Newcastle Disease is caused by a virulent strain of paramyxovirus and can be spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected birds. It can cause severe losses in certain poultry species, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>commercial and specialist breeds<\/li>\n<li>pet chickens<\/li>\n<li>other captive birds, including racing pigeons.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/public-health-england\">Public Health England<\/a> advises the risk of Newcastle Disease affecting people is very low.<\/p>\n<p>Christine Middlemiss, UK Chief Veterinary Officer, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The Animal and Plant Health Agency experts have advised that the risk of disease has risen to \u2018medium\u2019 following reports of Newcastle Disease in mainland Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">I urge all poultry keepers &#8211; whether of commercial, smallholder flocks or specialist breeds or pet chickens &#8211; to remain vigilant to the clinical signs of this disease, and urge them to put in place strong biosecurity measures to ensure the health and welfare of their birds.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Poultry species that are affected by Newcastle Disease may show the following clinical signs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Respiratory distress, such as gaping beak, coughing, sneezing, gurgling and rattling<\/li>\n<li>Nervous behaviour, such as tremors, paralysis and twisting of the neck<\/li>\n<li>Unusually watery faeces that are yellowish-green in colour<\/li>\n<li>Depression and a lack of appetite<\/li>\n<li>Produce fewer eggs which could be misshapen and soft-shelled<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If a bird keeper suspects that their birds may be infected with Newcastle Disease, they should contact their private vet and the APHA immediately.<\/p>\n<p>There are several precautions poultry keepers can follow to further minimise the risk to their birds, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ensuring, where appropriate, their birds have been vaccinated against the disease.<\/li>\n<li>Implementing strict biosecurity measures on their premises, including using disinfectant foot baths and reducing visitors to the birds.<\/li>\n<li>Thoroughly cleaning vehicles, equipment, clothing, boots that have been in contact with birds.<\/li>\n<li>Feeding and watering should be under cover and kept away from wild birds.<\/li>\n<li>Washing their hands with soap and water after handling their own birds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For APHA contact details visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/animal-and-plant-health-agency\/about\/access-and-opening\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cases of Newcastle Disease reported in smallholder flocks and commercial poultry sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94336"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}