Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) confirmed an outbreak of Newcastle disease at a commercial turkey farm in Nova Itaberaba, in western Santa Catarina state. The case was registered on October 18 and announced on Monday (19) by Agriculture Minister André de Paula, according to G1. The facility, which holds around 6,000 birds, was placed under quarantine by the Official Veterinary Service, with all movement of animals suspended.
The outbreak was detected during an epidemiological investigation by Santa Catarina's veterinary service and confirmed by the Federal Agricultural Defense Laboratory in São Paulo (LFDA-SP), a reference lab of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) for diagnosing the disease. The case was reported to the WOAH on Sunday, and Brazil's trading partners began to be notified. Control, containment and eradication measures follow the national contingency plan for avian influenza and Newcastle disease, and other farms in the region will be inspected.
Industry groups ABPA, ACAV and Sindicarne-SC said in a joint statement that the occurrence "shows no clinical manifestation": the virus was detected, but the confined birds did not develop the disease. The groups framed the case as an animal health issue limited to production. According to Mapa and Cidasc, Santa Catarina's agricultural agency, consuming inspected poultry products remains safe, with no contraindications. Consumers can identify them by the SIM, SIE or SIF inspection seals on the packaging.
Export risk
The sector's worry is commercial. Brazil is the world's largest chicken meat exporter, and a sanitary agreement with China provides for the suspension of Brazilian poultry exports in the event of Newcastle disease, ABPA president Ricardo Santin told Reuters. China accounted for about 10% of Brazilian chicken export sales from January to September, importing 420,000 tonnes, according to government data. In 2024, an outbreak at a farm in Rio Grande do Sul led the Chinese to embargo that state's product, a restriction only lifted early this year.
Mapa's acting secretary of Trade and International Relations, Rafael Requião, said the ministry has not received any notification of suspension from trading partners and that the government is reviewing protocols for a possible export "self-embargo". "We do not want to anticipate partners' reactions; discussions with China are beginning now," he said. The government relies on regionalization protocols, which would limit restrictions to the area hit by the outbreak.
Newcastle disease is caused by avian paramyxovirus serotype 1 and is highly contagious among birds: once the virus reaches a susceptible flock, it infects all birds within two to six days, according to the WOAH. In humans it can cause at most a transient conjunctivitis, transmitted by contact rather than consumption. For the Santa Catarina producer, the quarantine means losing the flock and bearing containment costs in a region that concentrates the state's poultry industry. For consumers, nothing changes on the shelf: inspected poultry meat and eggs remain cleared for sale. What is at stake, for now, is the fate of exports.