The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has announced that an outbreak of Newcastle disease (ND) caused by virulent avian paramyxovirus type 1 (APMV-1) has been reported in commercial poultry on a premises in Klepp, Norway. There were 7,500 laying hens present on the premises and the disease was detected after a drop in egg production with low mortality.
Disease control measures including movement control, zoning and disinfection have been put in place and surveillance needs to be put in place.
This is the first outbreak of ND reported in domestic poultry in Norway since 2003. In August 2022, APMV-1) was detected in samples of dead city pigeons in Oslo.
In 2022, before the recently reported outbreak in Norway, a total of seven outbreaks of NCH were reported by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) in Europe, six of which were on commercial farms.
According to APHA, Newcastle disease is a serious notifiable poultry disease that can cause heavy losses in unvaccinated domestic poultry, especially chickens. It is considered endemic in many countries of Central and South America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and is occasionally reported in Europe, most often in flocks in backyards.
