- Subscribe via RSS Iowa Poultry Industry Stands to Lose
Millions if Exotic Newcastle Disease Invades State February
24th, 2003 AMES, Iowa -- If exotic Newcastle disease (END)
spreads to Iowa and infects Iowa poultry, the impact on the
industry--and on the state's economy--would be significant, says
John Miranowski, an Iowa State University professor of
agricultural economics. Iowa is the nation's leading producer of
eggs. There are about 40 million egg layers in the state,
according to the Iowa Poultry Association. An outbreak of END in
the state could result in a loss of $185 million in egg sales.
The disease has spread from backyard flocks to commercial flocks
in California and has been found in Arizona and Nevada. END
primarily affects birds. It can be passed to other birds through
nasal secretions, sneezes or coughs. The disease can cause a
number of problems in poultry, ranging from a sudden onset of
death in the most dangerous form to coughing and wheezing found
in the more mild forms of Newcastle. In