In the village of Bohdan in the commune of Dobrzyniewo Duże (Podlaskie Province), 90 poultry had to be slaughtered. This is the third, after Topilec and Bojary in the Turośń Kościelna commune, outbreak of the disease called Newcastle disease, the last case of which was recorded in Poland in 1974. There are orders and bans issued by the voivode.
Although the name of this contagious disease may be misleading, Newcastle disease is a fact. It is caused by a virus called paramyxovirus type I. According to Radio Białystok, there is already a third outbreak of the disease in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. They were detected in a small farm in the village of Bohdan in the commune of Dobrzyniewo Duże in the Białystok poviat.
– This is a typical farmstead, we knew about this farm, because it resulted from the epizootic investigation that we conducted in the outbreak in Topilec. Poultry is no longer there, and there were 90 pieces – said Dariusz Filianowicz, the district veterinarian in Bialystok, in an interview with the radio.
Poultry attacked by a disease, the last case of which was recorded in Poland 49 years ago (illustration photo)Shutterstock
It started with a bonfire in Topilec
Drowned in the commune of Turośń Kościelna, which he mentioned, was the first outbreak of plague.
– Its presence was confirmed on Tuesday (July 11) by the results of tests carried out by the National Veterinary Institute in Puławy – said on Wednesday (July 12) the veterinarian Katarzyna Agnieszka Arłukowicz-Strrankowska, the provincial veterinary inspector for animal health and combating infectious animal diseases.
The last case of this disease was recorded in Poland in 1974. Veterinary services are investigating how the poultry got infected. Proceedings are underway.
The virus is highly pathogenic
Agnieszka Arłukowicz-Strrankowska noted that this virus occurs in birds, including wild ones. She emphasized that it is highly virulent, leading to the mortality of even the entire herd.
– The disease is quite similar in nature to highly pathogenic avian flu. It is caused by a different factor, a different virus, but it is a highly contagious disease, progressing very rapidly in poultry flocks, with even 100% mortality – said Arłukowicz-Strrankowska.
There are vaccines for Newcastle disease, but they are not mandatory. There were about 40,000 animals on the farm in Topilec. poultry, the herd had to be liquidated.
After a few days, the second bonfire
On Thursday (July 20), the services confirmed another outbreak of Newcastle disease. This time on a broiler farm, this time in the village of Bojary in the commune of Turośń Kościelna. There is one chicken coop on the farm, where approximately 28.5 thousand broilers were bred. The herd has been liquidated.
The poviat veterinarian in Bialystok said then that all highly commercial farms in the area had already been inspected by the inspection, and a review of farms where poultry was bred was also being carried out.
Do’s and don’ts apply
Already on Wednesday (July 12), the veterinary inspection requested the Podlaskie Voivode to issue a regulation on the designation of zones around the outbreak of the disease: the so-called an infected area within a three-kilometre radius around the site of infection, and an at-risk area of another seven kilometres. Which makes a total of 10 kilometers.
On Thursday (July 13), Bohdan Paszkowski, the Voivode of Podlasie, issued the said regulation. The infected area covered towns in the communes of Turośń Kościelna, the commune of Choroszcz and the commune of Łapy in the Białystok poviat. On the other hand, in the endangered area, apart from villages from the Białystok poviat, there are also villages from the Wysokie Mazowieckie poviat.
The regulation provides for a number of bans and orders. In the protected area, there are an order to immediately remove “carcasses of poultry or other birds from the farm”, or “application of biosecurity measures by persons entering or leaving premises where poultry and other birds are kept”. On the other hand, it is forbidden to sell poultry meat, meat of game birds and table and hatching eggs on the market.
The voivode also ordered marking individual areas with information boards.
Minister: This is a problem that we need to think hard about
Now that the second and third outbreaks have occurred, the new radii of infected and at-risk areas will apply.
On Thursday (July 20), in the morning at the PAP studio, the Minister of Agriculture, Robert Telus, when only one outbreak of this virus was known, said that “this is a problem that we need to think hard about, which is why the veterinary inspection and laboratories are working on it.” He also emphasized that Poland is one of the largest poultry exporters in Europe, which is why he hoped that there would be no further outbreaks.
The third outbreak was detected in the village of Bohdan in the commune of Dobrzyniewo Duże
PAP, tvn24.pl, Polish Radio Bialystok
Main photo source: Shutterstock