Newcastle Disease,

United Kingdom

July 20, 2005

Impact Worksheet

Summary:

On July 16, 2005, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom (UK) informed the OIE of an outbreak of a virulent form of Newcastle disease (ND) in a flock of 11,000 pheasants on a farm in West Horsley, Surrey.  In addition to the culling of affected pheasants, control measures include movement restrictions and the establishment of a surveillance zone.  This is the first outbreak of ND in the UK since 1997. 

The UK houses approximately 181 million poultry and exports a variety of poultry products, including live chickens and turkeys, various poultry meat and offal products, and eggs.  UK exports of these products are sent to numerous countries worldwide, however over one half of the UK’s poultry product exports are shipped to just four countries; Ireland, France, the Netherlands, and Germany.  Poultry meat production in the UK totaled 1.52 million metric tons during 2004.  The USDA considers the UK to be free of exotic Newcastle disease.  Given the UK ’s response to the outbreak and because commercial poultry operations do not appear to be affected, this status is currently unlikely to change. 

The US imported relatively small amounts of processed eggs and bird skins and feathered parts from the UK between the beginning of 2004 and May of 2005. 

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

On July 15, 2005, the United Kingdom (UK) confirmed an outbreak of Newcastle disease (ND), virulent sequence of “RRQRRF” in a flock of about 11,000 pheasants intended for game shooting at a holding in West Horsley Surrey, England .  The affected two-week-old pheasants were imported from France two weeks prior to showing clinical signs.  At this time, the source of the infection has not been officially identified, however an OIE alert dated July 20, 2005, states that 20 pheasants housed at the source flock in France have test positive for ND.  Virological test results on these pheasants are pending.  French authorities are cooperating with the UK in investigating the source of this outbreak and have stopped further exports of pheasants to the UK . 

Control measures in the UK include stamping out of birds on the holding, establishment of a protection and surveillance zone of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), export bans of live birds, hatching eggs, meat and eggs outside the EU, and prophylactic vaccination of poultry.  This is the first outbreak of ND in the UK since 1997.  The USDA considers the UK to be free of exotic Newcastle disease and this status is unlikely to change at this time due to the UK ’s response to the outbreak and because UK commercial poultry operations do not appear to be affected.

Source: OIE Disease Information Report; UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

In 2004, the UK ’s poultry stocks amounted to 181 million chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese (Table 1).  Chickens, totaling 170 million head in 2004, comprised the majority of the UK ’s poultry stocks, followed by turkeys, ducks, and geese.  The UK ’s poultry stocks comprised 1% or less of world stocks except for turkeys which accounted for about 3% of world turkey stocks.  Chicken meat production, at about 1.24 million metric tons in 2004, makes up the majority of the UK ’s poultry meat production.  As a share of world chicken and turkey meat production, the UK respectively contributed 1.8% and 4.4% during 2004.  In addition to its poultry meat production, the UK produced about 720,000 metric tons of eggs per year during 2003 and 2004.

Table 1: Poultry Stocks and Production, United Kingdom , 2003 and 2004

Source: United Nations FAO

During 2003, the UK exported 29.4 million live chickens valued at $95.1 million and 2.7 million live turkeys worth $20.6 million (Table 2).  By volume, these exports comprised between 4% and 5% of world live chicken and turkey exports, however by value, the UK ’s share of world live chicken and turkey exports was much higher at 11% and 18%, respectively.  In addition to live poultry exports, the UK exports chicken, turkey, duck, and pigeon meat.  The UK ’s chicken meat exports (fresh, frozen, and canned) amounted to over 209,000 metric tons, or about 85% of the UK ’s total poultry meat exports for 2003.  As a proportion of world chicken, turkey, and duck meat exports, the UK contributed between 2.4% and 4.1%, while its share of pigeon meat exports comprised over 16% of world exports of pigeon meat during 2003.  The UK also exported 17.2 thousand metric tons of eggs, 35.9 thousand metric tons of poultry offal products, and small amounts of prepared poultry liver during 2003.  The UK exports poultry products to numerous countries around the globe, however more than one half of all UK poultry product exports are sent to Ireland , France , the Netherlands , and Germany .

Table 2:  Exports of Live Poultry and Poultry Products, United Kingdom , 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	47,934	83,306	29,412	91,518	4.1%		10.7%
Turkeys	3,261	22,347	2,703	20,620	4.9%		18.1%
Fresh or Frozen Meat, Offal, and Eggs (mt)
Chicken meat, not canned	153,488	144,060	184,205	201,788	2.4%		2.5%
Chicken meat, canned	20,811	89,660	24,869	112,369	2.8%		4.0%
Turkey meat	31,686	35,834	34,668	42,044	3.9%		2.9%
Duck meat	7,503	16,937	6,452	16,939	4.1%		5.3%
Pigeon meat	868	4,336	865	4,493	16.5%		14.9%
Offal of chicken	47,348	13,603	35,774	12,197	23.7%		11.9%
Offal of duck	205	258	191	338	4.9%		0.6%
Eggs, in the shell	9,034	39,308	10,159	37,792	0.9%		2.9%
Eggs, liquid and dried	8,997	7,295	7,027	6,530	3.3%		1.6%

Source: United Nations FAO

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

Between the beginning of 2004 and May of 2005, the US imported a relatively small amount of poultry products from the UK (Table 3).  The US imports of UK poultry products were limited to processed egg products and small amounts of bird skins and feathered parts. 

Table 3:  US Imports of Live Birds and Poultry Products from the United Kingdom , 2004 – May 2005

Product	2004		2005 (January—May)
	Quantity (dozen or kg)	Value ($)	Quantity (dozen or kg)	Value ($)
Fresh table eggs in shell, preserved or cooked (dz)	7,196	140,015	0	0
Bird eggs, not in shell, fresh, cooked, frozen, or preserved (kg)	850	3,330	0	0
Bird skins, other feathered parts, and down (kg)	44	13,402	73	11,908

Source: World Trade Atlas; VS Import Tracking System

What are Canada and Mexico ’s imports of live birds or poultry products from the United Kingdom ?

In 2004, Canada imported from the UK small amounts of: bird skins, feathered parts, clean, disinfected and preserved feathers and egg yolks (not dried).  In the first five months of 2005, Canada imported: articles of feathers/down, bird skins, and other feathered parts.  No live birds, meat or eggs were imported from the UK in 2005. 

Mexico imported 12,161 breeder chickens in 2004 but no breeder chickens have been imported into Mexico from the UK in the first four months of 2005.  No other live birds, meat or eggs were imported from the UK into Mexico in 2004 and 2005. 

Source: World Trade Atlas

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

In 2004, 4,302,737 UK residents arrived on flights to the US .  As part of APHIS-PPQ’s agriculture quarantine inspection monitoring, 15,735 air passengers from the UK were sampled for items of agricultural interest in fiscal year 2004.  One passenger was found to be carrying one egg; the passenger did report plans to visit a farm or ranch while in the US .

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

CEI’s plans for follow up:

If you need more information or if you want to comment on this worksheet, you may reply to this message, or contact Wolf Weber at (970) 494-7222 or Liz Williams at (970) 494-7329.