POULTRY DISEASE THREAT FATAL BIRD VIRUS FOUND IN REGION.Byline: Staff and Wire Services Canada and Mexico have banned shipments of poultry and poultry products from California, and the Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo founded in 1966, is a large zoo located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Zoo, located in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, is home to 1,200 animals from around the world. took action Friday to protect its bird collections Bird collections are curated repositories of scientific specimens consisting of birds and their parts. They function as a research infrastructure for ornithology, the science of birds, and for other scientific disciplines in which information about birds is useful. because of an outbreak of Exotic Newcastle Disease Newcastle disease, pneumoencephalitis, acute viral disease of domestic poultry. Newcastle disease is characterized by sneezing, coughing, and nervous behavior. Affected birds may show tremors, circling, falling, twisting of the head and neck, or complete paralysis. . The zoo has more than 500 exotic birds The Exotic Birds was a pop music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1983 by three Cleveland Institute of Music percussion students, Andy Kubiszewski, Tom Freer and Tim Adams. They wrote their own music and were described as synth pop, techno-pop and techno-dance. , including giant California condors that are being bred in an attempt to save the species from extinction. The zoo closed two walk-through aviaries, changed its World of Birds show to eliminate contact between birds and audiences, and removed birds from educational demonstrations and outreach programs. Peafowl peafowl: see peacock. that range freely through the zoo were being collected. Strict cleanliness guidelines were also set for animal keepers and volunteers working in or near bird enclosures. ``We believe the risk of this disease infecting L.A. Zoo birds remains low, but since the consequences would be extreme, we need to take additional steps to protect our priceless birds,'' said Susie Kasielke, curator of birds. The virus, which is fatal to birds and threatens California's $3 billion poultry industry, is not contagious to humans but can be spread on the clothing and shoes of people who have been in infected areas. In Ventura County, the confirmation of the virus in a pet bird this week has prompted officials Friday to request a quarantine, officials said. David Buttner, chief deputy agricultural commissioner for Ventura County, said the quarantine would not have a significant impact on the county's commercial poultry industry, which was wiped out during the 1970s in a statewide outbreak. However, the disease could affect the county's backyard growers, Buttner said. ``If people have a few chickens, it could have a real impact on them. The disease spreads pretty rapidly, and if it's not treated, the mortality rate is pretty high,'' he said. Precautions similar to those at the Los Angeles Zoo were taken earlier this week to protect the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. Zoo's 1,900 birds and the San Diego Wild Animal Park's 1,500 birds. The disease surfaced in September in backyard chickens in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County. The state has since quarantined all or parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. and Ventura counties. More than a million chickens have been ordered destroyed at egg farms, and Canada and Mexico have banned shipments of poultry and poultry products from California. |
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