The Keeping Quality of Shell Eggs in Storage as Affected by Newcastle Disease

NEWCASTLE disease has now spread to every state in the union. When young stock is attacked, death losses run very high. In laying hens the disease causes little or no death loss, but egg production as well as egg quality are lowered in such flocks, so the economic loss is great. Beach (1943) showed that pneumoencephalitis (Newcastle) caused a sudden and drastic drop in egg production and a mortality of about 5 percent. Lorenz (1944) reported that eggs laid up to 45 days after an outbreak of Newcastle disease revealed these abnormal conditions: (1) Up to 10 percent of the eggs had abnormal air cells, many of which contained free-floating bubbles. (2) A high percent of the hens produced eggs with abnormal shells. (3) Albumen quality was decreased in nearly all eggs laid. Berg, et al. (1947) reported that albumen and shell quality were lower after a Newcastle disease attack . . .