COOPERATIVE EXTENSIONUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIACALIFORNIA POULTRY LETTERJune 1998In This Issue:
VVND in CaliforniaThe following release was received from Dr. Richard Breitmeyer, California State Veterinarian, Department of Food and Agriculture, Animal Health and Food Safety Services June 8, 1998--Routine disease surveillance has successfully detected exotic Newcastle disease in backyard game chickens in an urban area of Fresno, California. On May 26, 1998, the owner of the chickens sought veterinary assistance from a private practitioner after 10 birds on his premises began showing signs of listlessness, upper respiratory disease, and diarrhea. The backyard facility housed a total of 48 game chickens. Chickens from the premises were submitted to the California Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory System (CVDLS) in Fresno for a full diagnostic necropsy. California State and Federal Animal Health Officials were immediately notified by the CVDLS that gross pathology was suggestive of Newcastle disease. Chickens on the affected premises were immediately placed under a hold order, and the owner was assisted with the cleaning and disinfection of the premises. Strategies to prevent the spread of the disease were discussed and the owner was very cooperative. The owner had not moved birds from his facility during the last six months. On June 2, a virus isolated by CVDLS was submitted to National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa for characterization. On June 7, NVSL confirmed the isolate was a velogenic viscerotropic Newcastle disease (VVND) virus. All remaining chickens on the affected premises have been depopulated. A thorough epidemiologic investigation involved door to door surveillance in the 20 block area surrounding the affected premises. After 158 home visits, 18 sites have been identified that house approximately 75 chickens. These premises have been placed under hold with continued surveillance and monitoring. Even though no additional cases have been identified, attempts are being made to purchase all birds in the immediate vicinity for diagnostic purposes. No other premises have been found to have birds with clinical signs. The initial source of this disease is still under investigation. State and Federal Animal Health Officials in the Fresno area believe that the disease is under control and contained at this time. Importantly, affected birds were in an urban area of Fresno and it does not appear that any commercial poultry operations are at risk or affected. The closest commercial poultry population is 17 miles away. The commercial poultry industry in California has been alerted and is increasing surveillance and strengthening biosecurity measures. Statewide surveillance has been increased with emphasis on game chickens at live bird markets. If you have any questions please call Dr. Kenneth L. Thomazin, Acting Director, Animal Health and Food Safety Services or Dr. Larry J. Allen, Acting Chief, Animal Health Branch at (916) 654-1447. California Egg Quality Assurance Plan (CEQAP) UpdateOn May 19, 1998 the CEQAP Steering Committee met in Sacramento to discuss progress and general concerns. Representatives from the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) reported that the proportion of sporadic and outbreak cases from which Salmonella enteritides (SE), Phage 4 is isolated, have continued to decline slightly. David Goldenberg reported that the number of participants in the CEQAP continued to increase and that flocks of current participants represent about 85 percent of California's egg production. CEQAP ChangesFollowing a motion by Ralph Ernst (seconded by Doug Kuney) which would have required any changes in the plan to be submitted to a vote of participants, there was considerable discussion about procedures for changing provisions of the CEQAP. Subsequently Ernst and Kuney withdrew the motion and second. Ernst then moved that "All participants in the CEQAP must be notified at least 30 days prior to any meeting at which a change in the provisions of the program will be discussed" (change suggested by Gregg Cutler). This motion was seconded by Doug Kuney and passed by a unanimous vote. There was general agreement that any such notice should be accompanied by information about the reason a change was being proposed and any other information deemed pertinent. Plan participants would be invited to comment by mail, telephone, FAX, e-mail or by attending the meeting at which the proposed change would be discussed. Don Bell discussed several possible changes in the core components which relate to egg processing and refrigeration. Dr. Richard Breitmeyer introduced the suggestion that the committee consider adding a provision to require testing of the environment of laying houses about two weeks before the flock will be depopulated. This is similar to the testing required by participants in UEP's Five Star Plan. He expressed the feeling that this change would improve the national image of the plan. Carl Lofgren appointed a committee to study all suggested changes in the CEQAP core components. These will then be circulated for discussion at the next CEQAP Industry/Agency Team meeting scheduled for September 1, 1998. The following were appointed to this subcommittee: Alex Ardans, CVDLS ResearchA report was made by David Castellan, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Staff Veterinarian and Jill Snowdon, California Egg Commission (CEC) on a research project to assess the incidence of SE on California egg farms. The research would involve cooperation with the egg industry, CEC, CDFA, University of California and CDHS working together on study design and implementation. The plan involves collection of environmental samples from manure on ranches along with information about the flock and its management. The sample and information sheet would be transported to a laboratory where both would be assigned a number unknown to the person collecting the sample. This is sometimes called a double blind study because the sampler doesn't know the laboratory number and the laboratory doesn't know the sample source. In addition to getting an accurate survey of the prevalence of SE in California egg flocks the study will also compare different sampling and culture techniques, and the relation of environmental factors to presence of Salmonella. It is hoped that the results will provide valuable information to help the egg industry develop a more effective quality assurance program in the future. The cooperation of egg producers is critical to this vital research! Every possible precaution will be taken to assure that results cannot be associated with the flock of origin.Ralph A. Ernst U.C. Poultry Websitehttp://etx.ucdavis.edu/avs/avsext.htmIf you visit our website you will find the following menu: Under publications you will be able to read or download 12 poultry fact sheets and the 12 most recent issues of the California Poultry Letter. Information on other poultry subjects is available at the Purdue University Website. You can reach the Purdue site and several other sites from our menu listing "other pages of interest" or access the Purdue page directly from: http://www.ansc.purdue/edu/poultry/. The Purdue site has collected short poultry publications from a variety of universities and they have added a search engine so that you can search for subjects using key words. This is a convenient source of reliable poultry information on a variety of subjects. Ralph A. Ernst 1998 Egg Processing Workshop and Poultry Symposium Proceedings AvailableThese proceedings are now available for $8.00 per set (includes shipping). Please make check payable to UC Regents and mail to: Ralph Ernst The following papers are included in the proceedings: California residents may receive any two of the titles above free by sending us your mailing address. Coming EventsJuly 21-23, Oregon/Washington Poultry Industries Joint Annual Convention, Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, Washington. Call Skamania Lodge at 1-800-221-7117 for reservations. For additional information call 1-800-588-3447. *July 25-26, International Symposium on Food-Borne Salmonella in Poultry. Hyatt Regency Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland. Sponsored by the American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) . For more information contact AAAP, 382 West Street Road, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 19348-1692; Fax 610/444-5387. August 2-5, Poultry Science Association Meetings, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. For more information contact PSA office, 217/356-3182. *September 1, CEQAP Industry/Agency Team Meeting, Ontario, CA. Details to be announced. September 13-18, International Egg Commission Conference, Cape Town, Africa. October 19-21, National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Springdale, AK. For more
information contact Ralph Ernst 530/752-3513.
__________________________________________________________________________ Ralph A. Ernst, June Editor |