Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) to review Newcastle disease focussing on vaccination worldwide in order to determine its optimal use for disease control purposes

Abstract

SUMMARYIn view of a revision of the Community rules on the control of Newcastle disease (ND), laid down in Council Directive 92/66/EEC, a disease of major importance for poultry and other birds, the Commission requested EFSA to provide a complete and update review on this disease, concerning the definition, the role of pigeons and other avian species in the spread of ND and the vaccines used. A risk assessment approach was not requested however, in order to evaluate the present vaccination control strategies, an evaluation of the available data was required.The working group agreed that the scope of the report should consider the present scientific knowledge and analyse the available epidemiological data from Animal Disease Notification System ADSN system (DG SANCO), HANDISTATUS II data base (OIE) and data from the EU Reference Laboratory (Veterinary Laboratory Agency, VLA, Weybridge) taking into consideration the above mentioned mandate. The evaluation of vaccines and vaccination programmes was carried out in close cooperation with EMEA, who delegated two representatives to the working group.EFSA's scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare reviewed ND according to the mandate and drew the following major conclusions and recommendations:In the current EU Directive (92/66/EEC), Newcastle disease is defined as an infection of poultry caused by a virus of avian paramyxovirus type 1 (APMV-1) which has an intracerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI) in day-old chicks (Gallus gallus) of 0.7 or greater. The Panel has no scientific evidence to recommend a change on the definition of ND to include viruses with an ICPI below 0.7. ND should be defined as an infection of poultry and other captive birds with an APMV-1 meeting the criteria as described by the SCAHAW in 1998, allowing the sequencing of the cleavage site of the F gene as a supplement to the ICPI. The use of ICPI tests, for welfare reasons amongst others, should be restricted to situations where there is failure to demonstrate the presence of multiple basic amino acids at the Cterminus of the F2 protein and F (phenylalanine) at residue 117 of the F1 protein. It is recommended that for the purpose of a revised Directive for the control of ND the same definitions for poultry and captive birds as provided in the Directive 2005/94 for the control of AI is used. In addition the future Directive for ND should give a definition of racing pigeons.Biosecurity measures constitute the most important barrier in preventing the introduction, transmission and spread of ND. Prevention of secondary cases can be achieved through bio-containment. The major risk of ND spread from the index case is the movement of live poultry and birds and all activities linked to mechanical transfer of the virus by human beings, vehicles, crates and cages and any type of farm equipment.In addition to biosecurity measures, vaccination can be a valuable tool to control disease, however suboptimal use may result in the infection becoming endemic. Optimal vaccination programs are expected to prevent o...