Health Ministry reinforces mandatory vaccination against Newcastle disease across the entire poultry sector

The General Directorate of Agricultural and Livestock Production has reinforced mandatory vaccination against Newcastle disease across the entire poultry sector of the Comunitat Valenciana. This is done through the Resolution of October 20, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) number 10476, of October 22, 2026 (official reference: DOGV-C-2026-32962), after three outbreaks were confirmed in Fuenterrobles, Utiel, and Sinarcas. The regulation modifies the 2026 Annual Zoosanitary Plan and replaces the minimum guideline of two doses per flock that had been in effect since February.

Three confirmed outbreaks and a precedent in La Vall d’Albaida

The text, framed within the Department of Agriculture, Water, Livestock, and Fisheries, stems from the Resolution of January 8, 2026, published in the DOGV number 10281, of January 15, 2026, which approved the Annual Zoosanitary Plan for 2026. That regulation was modified by the Resolution of February 24, 2026 (DOGV number 10313, of March 2, 2026), which had already established mandatory vaccination in production and breeding farms other than those for self-consumption.

The trigger is epidemiological. On October 1, 2026, the disease was officially confirmed by the Central Veterinary Laboratory in three poultry farms in Fuenterrobles, Utiel, and Sinarcas, and the general directorate adopted the corresponding protection measures. The update note from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food dated October 2, 2026, reports the detection of a velogenic strain in one heavy breeder farm and two broiler farms whose birds had received vaccination.

The appearance of these outbreaks in a territorial area different from the one previously affected in La Vall d’Albaida demonstrates, according to the resolution, the need to reinforce prevention across the entire sector. The text warns that the movement of birds and the relationships between hatcheries, farms, integrating companies, suppliers, and transport services constitute a risk factor that is not limited to municipal boundaries or restriction zones.

Mandatory vaccination in the three provinces

Vaccination becomes mandatory in production and breeding farms of the species Gallus gallus and in broiler turkey farms, other than those for self-consumption, located in the Comunitat Valenciana. The reinforced guidelines apply to all flocks of these categories in Alicante, Castellón, and Valencia, regardless of their location inside or outside restriction zones or the municipalities previously considered at risk. For poultry species other than chickens and turkeys, vaccination will be voluntary.

Reinforced minimum guidelines per production cycle

• Fast-growing broilers: one application of a recombinant or vectored vaccine in ovo—preferably in the incubator, or subcutaneous in day-old chicks if the technology is unavailable—and a minimum of three applications of live vaccine via spray or pulverization.
• Laying hens and breeders in lay: revaccination with live vaccine via spray or pulverization with a maximum interval of six weeks between applications.
• Rearing flocks destined for laying or breeding: a minimum of two applications of inactivated vaccine and three of live vaccine before the start of laying, including males from breeding flocks.
• Slow-growing broilers: one vectored application in the incubator or subcutaneous, and between three and five applications of live vaccine.
• Broiler turkeys: a minimum of five applications of live vaccine via spray or pulverization, using medications authorized for the species.

Adaptation periods, controls, and entry into force

The guidelines apply in full to new rearing and turkey flocks started from the effective date and, in broilers, to new flocks whose incubation allows for in ovo vaccination. For flocks already hatched or housed, the responsible veterinary personnel have a maximum period of ten calendar days to establish an adaptation schedule; in ovo vaccination will not be retrospectively required for birds already hatched.

Commercial laying farms must perform serological controls via immunohemagglutination (IHA) during the replacement of layers, with at least 29 blood samples taken randomly before transfer to the laying house or within the first month after arrival. Official veterinary services will verify compliance through documentary controls, inspections, and analysis, and sufficient protection will not be considered proven by the mere number of recorded applications.

The resolution takes effect from the day following its publication, that is, from October 23, 2026, and an administrative appeal may be filed against it before the Regional Secretariat of Agriculture, Water, Livestock, and Fisheries within one month. The text is signed by the director general, M. Àngels Ramón-Llin Martínez, and specifies that it does not establish an extraordinary emergency vaccination campaign nor delimit a vaccination zone associated with outbreaks.

The reinforcement affects a sector that operates in an integrated manner throughout the Comunitat: the regulation requires holding companies and integrators to schedule initial vaccinations at the hatcheries that supply them with birds and to provide documentary evidence of vaccinations carried out outside the Valencian territory. The resolution further emphasizes that the vaccine does not replace biosecurity, surveillance, notification, and eradication measures, nor does it exempt from movement restrictions, mandatory slaughter, or cleaning and disinfection in the event of suspicion or confirmation of the disease.

Source: Diari Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana, no. 10476, of October 22, 2026, section III (Administrative acts, C) Other matters), p. 1-5 (official reference: DOGV-C-2026-32962).