Int’l - Newcastle Disease in UK leads to Pheasant cull

Exports of British poultry have been halted outside the European Union after the discovery of a highly-infectious disease in a flock of pheasants. The flock of 9,000 birds, kept at a farm in Surrey, is being culled, according to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Exports including live birds, meat and eggs have been suspended to countries outside the EU until further notice. The pheasants, which were being reared for shooting, came to the UK as part of a consignment from France. In its most severe form Newcastle disease can affect chickens, turkeys and ducks and can cause their sudden death. It can also give the birds breathing difficulties and trigger a drop in egg production. The Health Protection Agency has said the disease does not pose a "significant" threat to human health but it has known to cause conjunctivitis. Restrictions have been imposed on the farm, near Reigate, with a 10 kilometre surveillance zone to prevent the spread of the disease. Defra said: "Although Newcastle disease is infectious to other birds, the potential threat to a major part of the UK egg and poultry industry is minimal as large-scale producers routinely vaccinate their birds against the disease and any vulnerable birds could be vaccinated within a week." Chief veterinary officer Debby Reynolds emphasised that the disease, last encountered in the UK in 1997, was not a form of bird flu. Symptoms of the disease in birds include depression, lack of appetite, coughing, sneezing, gurgling and rattling, as well as yellowish green diarrhea.