Newcastle Disease, Denmark

October 26, 2005

Impact Worksheet

Summary:

On October 21, 2005, Denmark’s Chief Veterinary Officer informed the OIE of an outbreak of Newcastle disease (ND) in a commercial flock of 41,000 poultry in Broager, southern Jutland.  Control measures in accordance with European Union legislation are currently in place.  This is the first outbreak of ND reported to the OIE by Denmark since July of 2002.

Denmark’s national poultry flock in 2004 consisted of approximately 16.6 million chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese and accounted for less than 0.1% of world stocks.  In addition to exporting 142,000 metric tons of poultry meat and eggs during 2003, Denmark exported about 4 million live chickens and turkeys, primarily to the Netherlands and Russia.  Since Denmark’s ND outbreak of 2002, the USDA does not recognize Denmark to be free of ND and therefore does not import live poultry or poultry meat products from Denmark.  While the US did import a relatively small amount of processed bird feathers from Denmark during 2004, processed feathers present negligible risk of disease transfer. 

How extensive is Newcastle disease in Denmark, and what was Denmark’s disease status prior to the outbreak?

On October 21, 2005, Denmark reported to the OIE the confirmation of an outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease (ND) on a farm in Broager, southern Jutland.  The outbreak is reported to have taken place in a flock of 41,000 hens on a premises that includes hatching-egg production.  At this time, the source of the infection is unconfirmed.  This is the first reported outbreak of virulent ND in Denmark since July of 2002 when 135 farms were affected. 

Control measures including stamping out of poultry on the holding, disinfection of the affected premises, and establishment of protection and surveillance zones of three and ten kilometers, respectively, have begun.  The 10-kilometer surveillance zone extends south to Denmark’s border with Germany.  Although a vaccination campaign against ND has been in place in Denmark since November 2004, poultry at the affected premises had not yet been vaccinated.  Since the 2002 ND outbreak in Denmark, the USDA does not consider Denmark to be free of virulent Newcastle disease. 

Sources: OIE Disease Information Report; Science and IT News

What is Denmark’s place in the international market for poultry and poultry products?

In 2004, Denmark’s poultry stocks amounted to about 16.6 million chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese (Table 1).  Chickens, totaling about 16.1 million head, comprised the majority of Denmark’s poultry stocks, followed by turkeys, ducks, and geese.  By category, all of Denmark’s poultry stocks comprised less than 1% of world stocks.  In 2004, chicken meat production of 190,000 metric tons made up the majority of Denmark’s poultry meat production.  As a share of the world’s chicken and turkey meat production, Denmark contributed 0.3% and 0.2% respectively in 2004.  Denmark’s production of duck and goose meat amounted to 0.1% or less of world production for these categories.  In addition to its poultry meat production, Denmark produced 81,000 metric tons of eggs during both 2003 and 2004.

Table 1: Poultry Stocks and Production, Denmark, 2003 and 2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: United Nations FAO

In 2003, Denmark exported about 4 million live chickens and turkeys with a value of $13.2 million (Table 2).  Although this represents a decrease of about 20% in quantity from the previous year, the value of Denmark’s live poultry exports more than doubled over the two-year period.  The volume of Denmark’s live poultry exports comprised less than 1% of world exports in 2003, however the value of its live turkey exports accounted for 5% of world turkey exports.  During 2004, approximately 55% of Denmark’s live chicken exports were received by the Netherlands, while 32% were imported by Russia.  Denmark’s chicken meat exports (fresh, frozen, and canned) amounted to over 130,000 metric tons with a value of about $278 million in 2003.  As a proportion of the world volume of chicken meat exports, Denmark contributed between 1.5% and 2% while its corresponding share of the value of these exports was between 2.3% and 2.7%.  In addition to chicken meat, which comprises about 97% of Denmark’s poultry meat exports, Denmark exported smaller amounts of turkey, duck, and goose meat in 2003 (Table 2).  Denmark also exported 7,800 metric tons of eggs with a value of about $21 million during 2003. 

Table 2:  Exports of Live Poultry and Poultry Products, Denmark, 2002 – 2003

	2002		2003		% of World in 2003
Exports	Quantity (1000 head or mt)	Value (1000 $)	Quantity (1000 head or mt)	Value (1000 $)	Quantity (1000 head or mt)	Value (1000 $)
Live Birds (1,000 head)
Chickens	4,746	3,558	3,489	7,390	0.5%		0.9%
Turkeys	268	2,536	500	5,931	0.9%		5.2%
Fresh or Frozen Meat, Offal, and Eggs (mt)
Chicken meat, not canned	115,275	174,457	113,903	213,667	1.5%		2.7%
Chicken meat, canned	16,295	55,637	16,694	63,989	1.9%		2.3%
Turkey meat	2,258	3,794	2,570	5,788	0.3%		0.4%
Duck meat	1,988	3,859	1,058	2,503	0.7%		0.8%
Goose meat	7	35	16	69	<0.1%		<0.1%
Eggs, in the shell	2,332	6,356	3,234	9,477	0.3%		0.7%
Eggs, liquid and dried	3,580	7,559	4,517	11,425	2.1%		2.8%

Sources: United Nations FAO; Global Trade Information Systems

What are the US imports of live birds or poultry products from Denmark?

The US does not recognize Denmark to be free of ND and thus does not import live poultry or poultry meat products from Denmark.  The US did import about 800 kg of cleaned/disinfected and processed down feathers from Denmark during 2004.  However, assuming proper cleaning and disinfection of these feathers, the imports would pose no risk of disease infection.  No poultry products were imported by the US from Denmark between January and August of 2005.

Source: World Trade Atlas

What is the level of passenger traffic arriving in the United States from Denmark?

In 2004, 322,058 air passengers arrived in the US from Denmark on direct flights.  Some of these passengers may not have originated their travel in Denmark.  A total of 150,839 air passenger arrivals in the US reported Denmark as their country of residency.  As part of APHIS-PPQ’s agriculture quarantine inspection monitoring, 824 air passengers who indicated that their travel originated in Denmark were sampled for items of agricultural interest in fiscal year 2004.  Of these passengers, none were carrying items of poultry origin.

Sources:  Office of Travel & Tourism Industries, US Department of Commerce, USDA APHIS-PPC Agricultural Quarantine Inspection databases, Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

CEI’s plans for follow up:

CEI will continue to monitor the ND situation in Denmark, but at this time has no plans to provide additional information on the subject.  If you need more information or if you want to comment on this worksheet, you may contact Wolf Weber at (970) 494-7222 or Kathy Orloski at (970) 494-7221.