Ukraine bans imports of Polish chicken meat, eggs over Newcastle disease

MOSCOW. July 17 (Interfax) - The Eastern Interregional Department of the Ukrainian State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection has announced restrictions on any imports of hatching eggs, poultry and poultry products into Ukraine from Poland, citing cases of Newcastle disease recorded in the country, Ukrainian media reported on Monday citing the watchdog.

The ban will not apply to any products that have been processed using a method guaranteeing the elimination of the causative agent of this disease in line with the rules approved by the decree issued by the Ukrainian Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food on November 16, 2023 to regulate the importation or dispatch by mail to Ukrainian customs territory of any animal food products or animal feed, hay, straw, animal byproducts or products of their treatment or processing, the media said.

Newcastle disease is broadly known as pseudo-fowl pest, or Asian pest, a highly contagious and fatal viral disease that affects all kinds of poultry (chicken, pigeon, turkey, etc.). It is one of the most contagious diseases affecting poultry in the world, caused by a virus belonging to the Paramyxoviridae family. Many birds die of the disease, without showing any symptoms. Pseudo-fowl pest can even cause the death of vaccinated poultry.

According to Polish media, the disease was detected for the first time in 50 years at a poultry farm in Poland's Bialystok area where there are 43.41 thousand chickens held for slaughter.