Newcastle disease

Newcastle disease is a contagious bird disease affecting many domestic and wild avian species; it is transmissible to humans. It may have been prevalent as early as 1898, when a disease wiped out all the domestic fowl in northwest Scotland.  Exposure of humans to infected birds (for example in poultry processing plants) can cause mild conjunctivitis and influenza-like symptoms.  No treatment for NDV exists.

It is caused by Newcastle disease virus [NDV]  - a paramyxovirus, which comes in both highly virulent (strain Australia-Victoria, AV) and naturally occurring avirulent strains (strain New Jersey LaSota, strain B1-Hitchner).You need to read this carefully to understand the implications of what this means.

In addition, a set of mutants called noncytopathic (nc) mutants have been isolated from a chemically mutagenized, cloned stock of NDV-AV (Mandansky and Bratt 1978). In other words it is being cultured in laboratories, which should set alarm bells ringing in anyone with any wisdom at all.