Newcastle Virus kills a million chickens in Luzon

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is providing poultry farms with free vaccinations for the Newcastle Disease, also known as the Avian Pest, which had killed around a million chickens in Luzon from October to December 2015, GMA 7 news program “Saksi” reported.

The Avian Pest causes hemorrhaging in chickens and is fatal to poultry. “Nagbu-burst yung mga ugat [ng manok],” explained DA Undersecretary for Livestock, Jose Reaño. “Makikita mo, ulo niya namamaga, namumula ang mga mata. Pag second findings, yung ulo niya nagpipipilig, then patay.”

The areas presently affected by the outbreak are:

• Tarlac,
• Zambales,
• Pangasinan,
• Pampanga,
• Bulacan,
• Laguna,
• Quezon province, and
• Quezon City.

The Newcastle virus cannot be cured. The best way to stop it is with vaccinations, though this does guarantee against infection.

“Yung mga isolate samples namin, nakapagpadala na kami sa Australia for the DNA genotyping,” added Reaño. “ Para malaman po namin kung talagang kaparehas pa rin siya ng Newcastle na pinoprotektahan ng mga bakuna.” — DVM, GMA News