Hungary reports first Newcastle disease outbreak in commercial poultry since 1992

Hungary has confirmed a Newcastle disease outbreak on two broiler farms in Bács-Kiskun county, marking its first since 1992 and raising concerns over disease containment in the country’s poultry sector.

Hungary has confirmed Newcastle disease on two commercial broiler farms in Bács-Kiskun county, the National Food Chain Safety Office said, in what appears to be the country’s first case in its commercial poultry sector since 1992.

The outbreak was detected in Fülöpháza, in the Kecskemét district, across holdings with about 220,000 birds. According to Nébih, the flocks developed signs consistent with the disease, including higher mortality, reduced feed and water intake and greenish diarrhoea before laboratory tests confirmed the virus on 8 September.

The national chief veterinarian has ordered culling of the affected birds and officials have drawn up a 3-kilometre protection zone and a 10-kilometre surveillance zone around the farms. An epidemiological investigation is under way, while poultry keepers have been told to maintain strict biosecurity and report any unusual deaths or symptoms immediately.

PoultryMed said the notification to the World Organisation for Animal Health covered two epidemiologically linked holdings with roughly 219,000 broilers in total. That level of precision suggests authorities are treating the episode as tightly contained, but the case is still significant for a country where mandatory vaccination and strict controls have long helped prevent outbreaks.

Newcastle disease is highly contagious and can move quickly through poultry populations, with the potential to cause serious losses.