2,000 Birds Destroyed for Newcastle Disease

Federal officials who destroyed 2,000 birds at a warehouse where exotic Newcastle disease was found said Thursday they hope it ends the threat to the state’s $250-million poultry industry.

“We’re still tracing birds and testing birds, but we hope we’ve got it under control,” said Dr. Dale Bruch of the Department of Agriculture. The Newcastle scare began last month in Tampa when an infected parakeet was found. An examination of the Miami warehouse where it had been kept revealed another infected parakeet, so all the birds there were destroyed.