Russia bans Nordic poultry
poultry imports from both Sweden and Finland in an effort to
prevent the spread of Exotic Newcastle disease.
Russian newspapers reported that the ban applies to all live poultry, eggs and poultry meat that has not been thermally treated in an effort to limit the spread of the disease. The ban specifically applies to Ostergotland in Sweden and Western Finland, where a number of outbreaks of the disease have been reported.
Exotic Newcastle disease, though not thought to be harmful to humans, can devastate poultry flocks rapidly. It strikes the nervous and digestive system of birds, rendering them incapable of egg laying or leading to abnormalities in egg production.
The disease first made a serious impact in California during the early 1970's when it wiped out 12 million birds. Once an outbreak has been identified, elimination is a slow and costly process involving the extermination of poultry and a long-term quarantine of production facilities before production can be resumed.
The Russian Federal Veterinary Control Service said that the ban would be lifted once confirmation came from the Swedish and Finnish authorities that the disease had been eradicated. The ban has actually been in place on Swedish poultry since the end of last year, but the authorities have decided to reinforce it and extend it to Finland after further outbreaks were reported this month.
Russian authorities have fought hard to keep Exotic Newcastle disease out of the country, reacting quickly to outbreaks overseas by implementing trade bans. Last year another outbreak in the US led to an immediate ban on poultry and egg imports from the three Western states it affected.
