Newcastle disease and avian influenza (AI) are caused by heat labile, enveloped RNA viruses which, according to Dr. David E. Swayne, center director, Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), in Athens, Georgia, are relatively easy to kill. Swayne told the audience at the International Egg Commission meeting in Vienna that, “Avian influenza viruses are relatively easy to kill. It is just a matter of temperature and time, either in pasteurization or cooking.”