UPDATE ON THE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION OF NEWCASTLE DISEASE
26 May 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Global situation of Newcastle disease
- 3. Newcastle disease situation in Europe
- 3.1. Situation in Poland
- 3.2. Situation in Sweden
- 4. Newcastle disease situation in Spain
1. INTRODUCTION
Newcastle disease is defined as an infection of poultry caused by any viral strain of avian paramyxovirus type 1 (APMV-1) with an intracerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI) equal to or greater than 0.7 in day-old chicks. Confirmation of Newcastle disease virus by appropriate molecular techniques is currently accepted as an alternative to the ICPI test.
Paramyxovirus type 1 can affect a wide variety of birds. From an epidemiological standpoint, the most important susceptible species are chickens. Occasionally, the virus is isolated in pigeons. Wild birds may act as carriers, although the majority of strains isolated have been of low virulence for poultry.
The usual form is a respiratory infection, but the predominant clinical signs may include depression, nervous manifestations or diarrhoea.
In the case of outbreaks affecting poultry, Newcastle disease is included in the single list of notifiable diseases of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), as well as in Regulation (EU) 2016/429, which establishes the animal diseases subject to mandatory notification in the European Union.
For further information on the disease, please refer to the following link: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
2. GLOBAL SITUATION OF NEWCASTLE DISEASE
Newcastle disease is present on almost every continent and in most countries, particularly in regions with less regulated poultry systems or with limited surveillance and control capacity. It is considered endemic in many areas of Asia, Africa and parts of Latin America.
Since the virus naturally circulates in wild birds, there is a risk of it affecting domestic poultry anywhere in the world. For this reason, many countries have chosen to implement voluntary vaccination in domestic poultry.
According to information published by WOAH, since the beginning of 2024, Newcastle disease has affected Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Bhutan, China (People’s Rep. of), Congo (Dem. Rep. of), Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Morocco, Mauritania, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Russia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sweden, Chinese Taipei, Tanzania, Timor-Leste and Togo; while in 2025, cases have so far been reported in Burkina Faso, Slovenia, Israel, North Macedonia and Poland.
World map of ND outbreaks 2024–2025 (up to 20 May 2025)
The following map shows the location of outbreaks reported to WOAH since the beginning of 2024 via immediate notification.
The following table shows the number of outbreaks notified by each country to WOAH from 2024 to the present. Data from the 2025 six-monthly reports have not yet been published; consequently, only outbreaks communicated via immediate notification are shown for this period.
Table: Newcastle disease outbreaks notified to WOAH (2021–2025) (up to 23 May 2025)
| COUNTRY | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Saudi Arabia | 9 | 12 | 11 | 9 | – |
| Belize | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Benin | – | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| Bolivia | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Botswana | 14 | 15 | 3 | 9 | – |
| Brazil | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| Burkina Faso | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Bhutan | – | 2 | – | – | – |
| Cameroon | 10 | 12 | 47 | – | – |
| Chad | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| China (People’s Rep. of) | 16 | 13 | 25 | 50 | – |
| Colombia | – | 8 | – | – | – |
| Congo (Dem. Rep. of) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Côte d’Ivoire | 1 | – | 0 | – | – |
| Denmark | – | – | 1 | – | – |
| Eritrea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Slovenia | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Spain | – | 3 | – | – | – |
| Eswatini | 7 | – | – | – | – |
| Ethiopia | 72 | 29 | 22 | 13 | – |
| Philippines | – | 0 | 0 | – | – |
| France | – | – | 1 | – | – |
| Ghana | 209 | 194 | 189 | – | – |
| Guinea-Bissau | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| India | 2 | 59 | 184 | – | – |
| Indonesia | 97 | 10 | 8 | 2 | – |
| Iran | 2714 | 693 | – | – | – |
| Iraq | 42 | 18 | 14 | 245 | – |
| Israel | 22 | 35 | 44 | 19 | 2 |
| Kenya | 42 | 9 | 4 | 7 | – |
| Kuwait | 24 | 24 | 23 | – | – |
| Lesotho | 9 | 4 | – | – | – |
| North Macedonia | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Madagascar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 267 | – |
| Malaysia | 14 | 30 | 9 | 6 | – |
| Malawi | – | 1 | 3 | – | – |
| Mali | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| Malta | – | – | – | – | 2 |
| Morocco | – | – | – | 2 | – |
| Mexico | 31 | 11 | 54 | 14 | – |
| Moldova | – | – | 1 | – | – |
| Mozambique | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | – |
| Namibia | 3 | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| Nepal | 12 | 11 | 20 | 5 | – |
| Niger | 0 | 115 | – | – | – |
| Nigeria | 477 | 544 | 435 | 363 | – |
| Norway | – | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| Oman | 0 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Pakistan | 256 | 16 | 262 | 278 | – |
| Palestine | 23 | 26 | 13 | 12 | – |
| Peru | 12 | 10 | 16 | 3 | – |
| Poland | – | – | 4 | 24 | 19 |
| Qatar | 1 | 4 | 3 | – | – |
| Russia | 5 | 13 | 16 | – | – |
| Singapore | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | – |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| South Africa | 7 | 15 | 10 | 2 | – |
| Sweden | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – |
| Switzerland | – | 2 | – | – | – |
| Chinese Taipei | – | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| Tanzania | – | – | 0 | 42 | – |
| Togo | 48 | 47 | 95 | 83 | – |
| Tunisia | 4 | 5 | 1 | – | – |
| Turkey (Rep. of) | 10 | 6 | 1 | – | – |
| Uganda | – | – | 0 | – | – |
| Vietnam | 450 | 214 | – | – | – |
| Zambia | 14 | 5 | 22 | – | – |
| Zimbabwe | 12 | 30 | 12 | – | – |
Newcastle disease outbreaks notified to WOAH, 2021–2025 (up to 23 May 2025)
3. NEWCASTLE DISEASE SITUATION IN EUROPE
The Newcastle disease situation in Europe is, in general, stable, with detection of cases in wild animals and sporadic outbreaks in poultry establishments.
All member states, except Sweden, Finland and Estonia, implement a prophylactic vaccination policy; these three countries therefore currently maintain the status of disease-free without vaccination, and consequently retain differentiated animal health requirements for the movement of animals.
To date, emergency vaccination has only been applied once, in Italy during an outbreak in 2001. Between 2021 and the present, a total of 107 Newcastle disease outbreaks in poultry have been notified through ADIS in Europe, affecting 5,421,007 birds. These figures exceed those recorded in previous periods.
Table: Outbreaks in Europe, 2021–2025
| Year | No. of outbreaks | No. of birds affected |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13 | 75,232 |
| 2022 | 16 | 47,458 |
| 2023 | 11 | 80,513 |
| 2024 | 37 | 3,094,365 |
| 2025 (Up to 23 May) | 30 | 2,123,439 |
| Overall total | 107 | 5,421,007 |
Outbreaks in Europe, 2021–2025 (up to 23 May 2025) (source: ADIS)
The following chart shows the country distribution of confirmed outbreaks in Europe since 2021.
The spatial distribution of confirmed outbreaks in Europe since 2021 is shown below:
3.1. SITUATION IN POLAND
Newcastle disease re-emerged in Poland in 2023, with four outbreaks confirmed in poultry following a two-year period with no notifications. From 2024 onwards, the epidemiological situation worsened, with a total of 29 outbreaks recorded throughout the year. In 2025, although a slight reduction in the number of outbreaks has been observed, incidence remains high, with 27 outbreaks notified up to the date of the latest report (20 May 2025).
Since the onset of the event, multiple outbreaks have been identified across various regions of the country, with the greatest concentration in the voivodeships of Lubelskie, Mazowieckie, Podlaskie, Łódź and Podkarpackie.
3.2. SITUATION IN SWEDEN
Sweden does not practise preventive vaccination and is therefore currently considered a disease-free country without vaccination. Since 2021, it has notified sporadic detections of the disease in domestic poultry.
In October 2021, an outbreak was detected on a laying hen farm located in Fjugesta (Örebro region), presenting with clinical signs including a drop in egg production and shell-less eggs. In November 2022, a new outbreak was notified on a farm with 14,000 laying hens, with no secondary cases. In early 2023, an outbreak was detected on a farm in Johannishus, affecting approximately 5,000 birds.
Finally, in 2024 two outbreaks were detected: the first, in May, affected a large farm in Helsingborg with more than 230,000 birds; the second was notified in October in Ödeshög, where 18,000 laying hens were culled following the detection of anomalies in egg production. In all cases, the measures laid down in Regulation 687/2020 were implemented immediately to achieve eradication.
No new outbreaks have been notified in the country up to May 2025. Nevertheless, the intermittent presence of the virus highlights the need to maintain active surveillance and good biosecurity practices on poultry farms throughout the country.
4. NEWCASTLE DISEASE SITUATION IN SPAIN
Spain is currently an officially Newcastle disease-free country under international and EU regulations, where voluntary prophylactic vaccination is applied preventively on a high proportion of farms.
In 2022, Spain notified three Newcastle disease outbreaks, all located in the municipality of Huércal-Overa, in the province of Almería, on unvaccinated broiler farms.
The first outbreak was confirmed on 29 June on a broiler farm with a flock size of approximately 10,000 birds. Subsequently, on 7 July, two further outbreaks were detected on nearby farms (within a 3 km radius), also engaged in broiler production, with flock sizes of approximately 9,980 and 26,900 birds, respectively. In total, these three outbreaks affected approximately 46,000 animals. The official veterinary services of Andalusia immediately implemented the measures set out in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/687, successfully regaining disease-free status in October 2022.
Prior to this date, Spain had not recorded any Newcastle disease outbreak since 2009.
Although vaccination against Newcastle disease is not mandatory in Spain, the epidemiological situation in wild birds and the variable susceptibility among species have led a high proportion of commercial poultry farms to opt for prophylactic vaccination of their flocks. This broad vaccine coverage, combined with the absence of a DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) strategy, limits the use of serology as an active surveillance tool, since available diagnostic methods cannot distinguish between antibodies generated by vaccination and those derived from natural infection. For this reason, active surveillance activities focus primarily on unvaccinated flocks.
Source:
-. Report on the epidemiological situation of Newcastle disease as of 26 May 2025 (MAPA)
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