MANAGEMENT, CONTROL AND REGULATIONS
ND is a notifiable disease in Europe and elsewhere. The duties of the European NRL are: i) to confirm the initial results of diagnostic laboratories; ii) to perform PCR to differentiate APMV1 from other APMVs; iii) to determine the virulence of the isolate by demonstration of multiple basic amino acids at the cleavage site of the F protein; iv) to perform the intracerebral pathogenicity test and calculation of an index value (ICPI) to determine the neurovirulence in vivo.
The detection of virulent APMV1 by these four criteria constitutes the presence of a virus that causes the notifiable ND in those cases where the isolate originated from poultry. The local veterinary authorities and the national governments must be immediately informed. In addition, the national government must inform the OIE. It is the duty of the government in cooperation with the local authorities to initiate countermeasures to eradicate infected and contact birds, including hygiene measures and disinfection.The first (index) case of confirmed ND in poultry has a severe impact on national and international trade in live poultry and poultry products, including eggs. Formal regulatory requirements for ND confirmation in free- living birds (wild) are not in force.
Procedures in place for the management of ND outbreaks in poultry include ‘stamping out’ infected and incontact poultry, incinerating dead and culled birds, destroying all eggs laid during the outbreak, cleansing farms with subsequent disinfection and stand- still of all movements and transport for at least 3 weeks. Such measures are not applicable to wild birds kept in captivity or for free-living birds. Captive birds and domestic pigeons are usually maintained during outbreaks in closed houses, and enforced biosecurity is mandatory. Vaccination with inactivated vaccines is used with the agreement of local veterinary authorities. Lentogenic (mild) strains (e.g. Hitchner B1, LaSota, Clone 30) have been used as live vaccines for poultry and many avian species since about 1960.
If free-living birds were found to be infected with virulent NDV, surveillance might be applied to monitor enhanced mortality among these bird populations.
Bird collections in zoos or similar establishments can be vaccinated in accordance with EU regulations in emergency situations due to outbreaks of ND in poultry in the immediate neighbourhood. Vaccination of poultry with live or inactivated vaccines is mandatory in most EU countries and completely banned in others (e.g. UK, Ireland, Denmark).