Deadly Sparks in Redwood City Chicken Fear Bird Disease Has Arrived

REDWOOD CITY – The Live Poultry Show was canceled at the San Mateo County Fair in the spring. A large veterinary hospital on the peninsula postpones all chicken appointments. And backyard bird lovers worried about the Bay Area are taking special steps to protect their flocks.

The announcement of a highly contagious and deadly bird flu virus at a Redwood City veterinary clinic alarmed the Bay Area poultry community, saying that the dreaded virulent Newcastle disease has moved from southern California North.

The disease, first reported on May 17 in Riverside County, resulted in the euthanasia of nearly 500,000 domestic and commercial birds in southern California.

"The biggest concern is the spread in commercial flocks," said Richard Blatchford, poultry specialist at the Department of Animal Husbandry at UC Davis University. It has already been found in three commercial facilities in Riverside County.

"It can erase a whole farm very quickly," he said.

The disease causes only mild symptoms in humans who have very close contact with infected birds, but it can kill chickens, turkeys, cockatoo, cockati – and occasionally wild birds such as cormorants, pelicans and seagulls .

"This new guy is very worried," said Michelle Strachan, a resident of Los Gatos, who owns nine chickens at her home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. "It made me gasp and beat my heart immediately because I understand the gravity of the situation."

She takes rigorous measures to protect her flock: wash her hands, keep her birds confined in their pens, wear disposable shoe covers at the grocery store, do not visit friends who have poultry, Do not allow friends with poultry to visit her and shut up "flock -" do not add birds this year, "she said," as tempting as those fluffy chicks can be!

"The most important thing people can do is not move their birds," she said.

The new case – the first ever recorded in northern California – likely occurred in a bird that had been transported from southern California, where the outbreak began in birds exposed to the backyard in southern California. Riverside County.

"We are in unknown territory in terms of state broadcasting," said Blatchford of UC.

The last outbreak also occurred in 2003 in Southern California, which ultimately resulted in infections in commercial herds.

According to Annette Jones, a state veterinarian in California, in a report published by the American Veterinary Medicine Association, the region is a specialized bird breeding center, probably in part because of the hot weather of the year . Small chicken farms and slaughterhouses provide local food and fill niche markets.

Most infections occurred in chickens reared in dwellings on the outskirts of urban areas, where old farms and stables have been incorporated into cities but still have dense pockets of animals, including chickens, pigeons and peacocks.

Due to threat to poultry industry valued at $ 2.5 billion, poultry owners are prohibited from moving birds throughout the County of Los Angeles, as well as in large areas of counties from San Bernardino and Riverside. The quarantine extends from the north and south boundaries of western Riverside County to the Salton Sea – including the Coachella Valley – and extends to the 39th century. is up to the Yucca Valley in San Bernardino County, with a northern boundary at the county boundary of Kern.

The focus was initially on backyard chickens, Blatchford said. But now he is expanding.

On December 16, 2018, the disease was reported in a commercial flock of 110,000 6-week-old laying hens in Riverside County. On January 8, he was found in a second large flock of commercial layers in southern California. A third infected commercial flock was detected two days later.

In humans, the disease only causes mild flu-like symptoms, laryngitis or conjunctivitis, an infection of the eye also called "pink eye".

But in chickens, it's almost always fatal. Sick birds can sneeze, suck air, cough, shake, sag their wings, become stiff and have greenish, watery diarrhea. Birds can die without showing any clinical sign of disease.

Due to the threat to the poultry industry in California, the California Department of Food and Agriculture has recommended to the San Mateo County Fair to suspend its trade show. poultry for the 2019 holiday season, according to officials at the San Mateo County Fair.

"Our board of directors will work with local 4-H and FFA officials to coordinate a bird-free poultry show for 2019," said Justin Aquino, San Mateo County Fair Manager. "We will encourage students to participate in an educational exhibition to educate fair visitors about the poultry industry."

On Thursday, the Adobe Veterinary Hospital in Los Gatos and Los Altos suspended all chicken appointments. He strives to create a way to work with clients using interactive video conferencing. If necessary, a veterinarian will visit an animal confined to the owner's car.

"If a case of Newcastle disease is observed in our hospital, the state will shut down the hospital for quarantine," said Adobe Animal Hospital to its clients. "The state will then ask us to euthanize all the other chickens that were present at the same time as the sick bird was seen … even though they are not sick."