February 23, 2010

South Korea aims to be Newcastle disease testing centre

South Korea aims to become Asia's first certified testing centre for the highly-contagious Newcastle disease this year, a government quarantine service said Monday (Feb 22).

The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said based on experience gained in dealing with the poultry disease in the past, the country has the qualified personnel and high-tech testing facilities to confirm outbreaks in the country and throughout the region.

The Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) plans to convene a meeting of all of its 175 members in May that can decide on this matter.

NVRQS director-general Lee Joo-ho said if the country becomes a designated reference laboratory it will be able to provide feedback and confirm if the disease has broken out all over Asia.

In addition, the agency under the farm ministry said it will seek to become the OIE's regional reference laboratory for the chronic wasting disease of deer in 2011 and rabies in 2012. It will also try to win recognition as a testing facility to cope with bacteria that are tolerant to livestock antibiotics in the future.

The agency said that such efforts can help local scientists better develop vaccines and drugs that can confirm if an animal has been infected with a virus.

Newcastle disease is the most common of chicken diseases in the world and is highly-contagious. As with bird flu, a country that reports the disease is banned from exporting poultry abroad. Only laboratories in the US, Australia and three EU countries have been classified as OIE reference labs so far.