Disease strikes poultry

Friday, Jan. 17, 2003 | 9:33 a.m.

Nevada agriculture officials quarantined Southern Nevada poultry Thursday after confirming that the highly infectious Exotic Newcastle disease had been found in a backyard flock of chickens near Nellis Air Force Base.

The discovery of the bird virus means that all poultry from the Las Vegas Valley and Amargosa Valley and Pahrump in Nye County will be quarantined from four months to a year, officials said. The quarantine means birds cannot be sold or transported.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the disease from the DNA of a flock of about 30 chickens Thursday morning, said Tom Smigel, who investigated the Las Vegas outbreak for the Nevada Department of Agriculture. The flock will be destroyed.

The owner of the flock in northeast Las Vegas contacted the Agriculture Department last week when some of the chickens appeared sick and two died, Smigel said.

The highly contagious disease spreads easily and it can infect wild and pet birds. Pet stores and other bird-related businesses were to be notified today that the disease is in Southern Nevada, officials said.

Exotic Newcastle disease is caused by a virus that can spread through droppings, breath and eggs of birds, according to the USDA website.

Southern Nevada residents do not have to worry about chickens or eggs purchased in local stores because most supplies come to Las Vegas from Midwestern farms, Smigel said. There are no commercial poultry farms in Southern Nevada.

The Clark County Health District was notified of the local Exotic Newcastle outbreak, but "it is not a threat to humans," district spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore said.

By imposing a quarantine, state officials hope to prevent people from moving poultry out of the area, Smigel said.

In September the disease turned up in household flocks in Southern California. More than 1.7 million chickens had to be slaughtered. The quarantine in California is an attempt to protect the $3 billion poultry industry.

About 12 million chickens and other poultry were destroyed in California to eradicate a 1971 Newcastle outbreak. The disease was transmitted from infected imported parrots.

If other local poultry shows signs of illness, the Nevada Department of Agriculture will examine the birds and test them for disease. The agency's phone number is 486-4690.