July 21, 2004

Newcastle Disease Found In Finnish Poultry

Cases of the highly contagious viral Newcastle disease have been discovered in Finland after a several years' break. The country's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry told the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Tuesday that the disease has been diagnosed in turkeys of a farm in the region of Satakunta.

The disease, affecting poultry, aviary birds and wild birds, does not make the leap to humans or other mammals. The last time the virus was found in Finland was in 1996 in an Oulu University aviary. However, the disease has not been spotted in Finnish poultry since 1971.

The ministry and the National Veterinary and Food Research Institute of Finland (EELA) said that all the turkeys in the farm will be slaughtered and destroyed. Further, the production facilities will be disinfected. After three weeks, the farm will be re-examined for contamination.