SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Department of Agriculture has issued an emergency ban on the importation of birds from areas in neighboring California and Nevada affected by Exotic Newcastle Disease. The illness, which is fatal to birds but harmless in humans and other animals, was first diagnosed in domestic poultry in Southern California and has since spread to a few counties in Nevada. If the disease hits Oregon, it could devastate the state's poultry
industry and backyard flocks, said Dr. Andrew Clark, the state veterinarian.
"Bringing the disease to Oregon has no profit," Clark said. "It is highly contagious and highly fatal."
Agriculture officials have asked poultry industry groups, domestic poultry owners and pet-bird enthusiasts to be on the lookout for signs of the disease, such as a drop in egg production. "We are not testing for the disease because we have no reason to," Clark said.
All birds from disease-ridden areas are barred from Oregon during the 180-day quarantine, even pet parakeets. They can enter the state if they're from counties that haven't been hit by the disease and receive a clean bill of health from a veterinarian 24 hours before entry.
Exotic Newcastle Disease is caused by a virus found in the droppings, breath and eggs of birds. An infected bird can pass the virus to another by being in proximity.
Since the disease turned up in Southern California in September, more than 1.7 million chickens have been slaughtered there. State and federal authorities are conducting an intensive eradication campaign and have imposed a quarantine throughout Southern California to try to protect the state's $3 billion poultry industry.
In the 1970s, an outbreak of the disease in California threatened the nation's poultry and egg supply and led authorities to destroy nearly 12 million chickens.