Zurich: Measures are lifted | Police-Switzerland.ch
The Newcastle disease measures will be lifted as of 15 February 2022. This was decided by the federal government and the canton of Zurich after no further cases of this highly contagious animal disease were discovered.
At the end of January 2022, Newcastle disease was discovered in a poultry flock in Niederglatt. The farm was immediately closed and a protection and surveillance zone with strict measures for all poultry farmers located there was established around the epidemic. These zones and thus the measures will now be lifted as of February 15, 2022.
Origin of Newcastle disease known
At the site, which was affected by Newcastle Disease and therefore closed, all leganns had to be killed before clean-up work could begin. The in-depth investigations in the laboratory have shown that the virus is a pigeon strain. So the disease must have been introduced by street pigeons. This finding shows once again how important it is to prevent contact between poultry and wild birds.
Most of the rehabilitation work on the closed site has now been completed. However, before animals can be housed again, it is essential to effectively implement further biosecurity measures to prevent a renewed entry of the animal disease. This includes ensuring through defense that street pigeons can no longer stay there and multiply.
Working in the protection and surveillance zone
Of the 59 reported poultry holdings in the protection zone, 34 holdings were sampled and the others were interviewed by telephone using a standardized questionnaire. In the surveillance zone, 433 farms are registered with the veterinary office, most of which are small or very small farms with only a handful of animals. In this zone, 23 companies were sampled after a risk assessment and others were interviewed by telephone. The results were all negative, which is why the zoning can be removed.
Bird flu risk not yet known
There is still a risk of bird flu entering poultry farms. Therefore, the shore strips along lakes and rivers in the Central Plateau will remain as control and surveillance areas until at least March 15, 2022.
In general, all poultry farmers are recommended to uphold biosecurity measures and to prevent contact between domestic poultry and wild birds in the long term. It is also important to keep a close eye on your animals and to report irregularities such as frequent deaths immediately.
Canton ZH