I'm not an expert on Newcastle Disease, but I do know that AQIS
takes it very seriously. I was importing a small number of
frozen shorebird specimens from China last April, of birds that had
only just left Australia. In order to get them into Australia I had
to triple-bag them, each one sealed, and have them
gamma-irradiated in Sydney to sterilise them. Given that waders are
forever going back & forth, and that these birds had only just
arrived from Australia, I was really dubious about the risk, but from
what the AQIS folk told me, this diease (and another which was a
possibility) can sit around on plants etc that infected ducks brush
against and can be picked up extremely easily.
The belief is that these diseases are rife in China but I don't know
whether this has ever been tested for in shorebirds. AQIS has been
testing shorebirds in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the past for bird
diseases, and I would love to know what they found (or didn't).
Phil.
Phil Battley,
Australian School of Environmental Studies,
Griffith University,
Nathan,
Queensland 4111,
Australia.
Ph: 0061-7-3875-7474
Fax:0061-7-3875-7459
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