The first case of Newcastle disease to be reported in the country of Turkey since 2007 has been reported by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).
At a small backyard poultry holding in Bozkas, Turkey, three bird deaths were noticed on December 31, 2023. Cloacal and tracheal swab samples were taken from the birds and were tested at a national reference laboratory. On January 5, the samples tested positive for Newcastle disease.
The remaining 217 birds in the village were depopulated and the eggs were destroyed prior to when the test results were revealed to prevent any possible spread of disease, WOAH reported.
A protection zone in a 3-kilometer radius and a surveillance zone in a 10-kilometer radius have been established around the initial farm. Following the clinical survey, no suspicion of the disease was observed in the surrounding villages. There are no commercial poultry holdings in the outbreak area.
According to WOAH, the infection occurred just days shy of 17 years of the country’s last outbreak of Newcastle disease, which was confirmed on January 9, 2007.
