The Newcastle virus has claimed the lives of more than half of the chickens on poultry farms in the Raparin town of Sulaimani province, with officials pointing to poor vaccine quality and a lack of coordination with local veterinary authorities as key factors in the outbreak.

Barham Qadir, who owns three poultry farms in Raparin, reported losing over 30,000 of his 53,000 chickens, resulting in financial losses of at least 80 million Iraqi dinars ($60,000). "Some people have lost 70 percent of their chickens," Qadir told Rudaw. "If the chicks are high quality, could they die at two days of age? Are there no vaccines to respond to the disease?"

The outbreak of the Newcastle virus has been documented exclusively at farms in the Raparin area, according to local veterinary authorities. They attribute the sudden appearance of the virus to untimely vaccinations and inadequate climate control systems in the poultry houses, as temperatures in the Kurdistan Region soar to nearly 50 degrees Celsius during the summer.

Saadi Taib, head of the local veterinary board, noted that the farms suffer from insufficient oversight and often fail to consult with authorities. Raparin boasts 1,076 poultry farms licensed by the Kurdistan Region’s agriculture ministry, producing over 14,000 tons of poultry annually. The town is located northwest of Sulaimani city, near Lake Dukan.

Infected chickens exhibit symptoms such as nasal discharge, paralysis, twisted necks, swollen eyes and necks, and greenish diarrhea. Unfortunately, infected birds do not recover. Although antiviral medications are available, Taib explained that farmers often lack the specialized veterinary knowledge to use them effectively. Furthermore, low-quality medications are frequently ineffective and misused, forcing some farmers to choose between using or selling costly higher-quality imported medicines.

The challenges faced by farmers and veterinary authorities include a lack of formal agricultural training and monitoring, as well as resource constraints for officials, who often rely on personal vehicles to visit the farms. Jamal Hussein, head of Sulaimani’s animal resources department, emphasized the importance of the source and quality of the eggs, noting that some eggs are smuggled into the Kurdistan Region.

In 2023, approximately 10 million chickens were lost to viral diseases within a span of less than two months in the Kurdistan Region. At that time, Erbil’s poultry farmers association attributed the widespread chicken deaths to unchecked commercial vaccines and uncoordinated governmental vaccination efforts.

The destruction of sick chickens and the mortality rate during outbreaks have led to significant price increases, making poultry unaffordable for many low-income families.