The Norwegian Food Safety Authority was notified of the suspicion by the Veterinary Institute on Friday after several blood tests showed that it could be the feared virus. Analyzes of new samples on Saturday confirm that it is Newcastle disease. – The disease was discovered because the hens in the herd laid fewer eggs than normal, says communications advisor at the Food Safety Authority Hege Robberstad. Newcastle disease usually leads to serious illness and death, but the symptoms can vary. Both domesticated and wild birds can be affected by the disease. All the laying hens in the herd where the disease has been detected will be euthanized to prevent further infection. The risk of infection to humans is very low, and it should be safe to eat eggs and poultry meat. But if people become infected, it can cause mild symptoms such as eye inflammation or mild flu. It is not known how the infection entered the herd. But the disease was found in wild pigeons in Oslo at the end of August this year. Demanding for the industry – This is demanding for the industry. It is only barely a year since we had an outbreak of bird flu here, says head of the Rogaland poultry association for eggs, Tor Gudmestad. Rogaland accounts for 30 percent of egg production in Norway. Animal density is generally high on Jæren. Several chicken producers had to slaughter the entire herd when bird flu was detected on Jæren last year. Now a new serious disease has entered the same area. Photo: Thomas Ystrøm / news – We have good routines for dealing with infection, but we never know when serious illness will appear. Gudmestad does not believe that this will lead to a lack of eggs for consumers. – It is painful for the manufacturer who is involved in this, but we are confident that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority will handle this in a good way. Initiating measures The Norwegian Food Safety Authority is now initiating a number of measures to prevent the disease from spreading. A protection zone and observation zone will be created around the herd. Within these zones, all transport of anything related to poultry production is prohibited. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has established a protection zone (the red ring) and an observation zone (the green ring) after Newcastle disease was discovered in a herd on Jæren. Photo: Norwegian Food Authority All domesticated birds must be kept indoors in these zones. – We are working to get a complete overview of the situation and continuously assess which measures are necessary. Further measures may come in the near future and at short notice, says Inge Næsset, director of the regulations and control department at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. In Norway, there has only been an outbreak of Newcastle disease in poultry once before. It was on Finnøy in 1996. Worldwide, Newcastle disease has been the most loss-making serious infectious disease in poultry production for a long time.
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Serious viral disease discovered among laying hens on Jæren – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
