Newcastle disease (similar to avian plague) in canaries and finches
Other names: Newcastle، Shawta
Symptoms
- Lethargy and weight loss
- Respiratory signs
- Bright green-yellow diarrhea
- Neurological signs (neck twisting, tremor, paralysis)
How it spreads
Contact with poultry, pigeons and wild birds, and contaminated tools and clothes. Very important in Egypt because the disease is endemic in poultry.
Diagnosis
Virus isolation and blood tests; it must be reported.
Treatment
There is no cure; symptomatic treatment only. You must notify the veterinary authorities. Merck warns that the Newcastle vaccine can be fatal to parrots, and for finches there is no dedicated vaccine. [Update 3] Merck (revised 2026): viscerotropic Newcastle disease (PMV-1) has symptomatic treatment only and is not advisable, and it must be reported to the veterinary authorities. Paramyxovirus 3 infects Gouldians and is usually mild or causes sudden death, and its treatment is supportive. The PMV-1 vaccine is prohibited in parrots because it may kill them. (All under veterinary supervision.)
Prevention
Do not keep finches near chickens or pigeons, and change your clothes and boots after visiting a poultry farm.
Season
More in winter in Egyptian poultry
Treatment and doses are decided by an avian vet after an exam; Zajel does not publish doses.
Other diseases
- Canary pox
- Polyomavirus in finches
- Canary circovirus (black spot)
- Paramyxovirus (PMV-3) in Gouldians
- Avian influenza
- West Nile virus
- Herpesvirus (eye inflammation in Gouldians)
Sources
- merckvetmanual.com
- KB (not web-verified this session): widely repeated aviculture/breeder consensus; treat with stated confidence
- merckvetmanual.com