NVAP Reference Guide: National Poultry Improvement Plan

The diseases covered by the NPIP are avian influenza (fowl plague) and those produced by S. pullorum (pullorum disease), S. gallinarum (fowl typhoid), S. enterica var. enteritidis, Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG, chronic respiratory disease, and infectious sinusitis in turkeys), M. synoviae (MS, infectious synovitis), and M. meleagridis (MM, day-old airsacculitis). In addition, the NPIP has programs such as “U.S. Salmonella Monitored” and “U.S. Sanitation Monitored” that are intended to reduce the incidence of salmonella organisms in hatching eggs, chicks, and poults through effective and practical sanitation procedures at the breeder farm and in the hatchery. 

The NPIP defines poultry as domesticated fowl, including chickens, turkeys, ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries, waterfowl, and game birds (except doves and pigeons) bred primarily to produce eggs and meat. Three types of participants are involved in the NPIP: independent flocks, hatcheries, and dealers. The poultry products certified by the NPIP are hatching eggs, baby chicks, poults, and started pullets. The vast majority of U.S. states prohibit the entry of any poultry shipments except those designated as pullorum-typhoid clean. Essentially, such bans mean that poultry moving interstate should participate in the “U.S. Pullorum-Typhoid Clean” program of the NPIP or be tested negative for pullorum-typhoid before leaving their home state. Fifteen states require that all shipments of turkeys they receive be MG clean. Essentially, that requirement means that turkeys moving interstate should participate in the “U.S. MG Clean” program of the NPIP or be tested free of MG before shipment.

Most U.S. trading partners importing poultry and products from the United States also require NPIP participation. Accredited veterinarians may be requested to inspect breeder flocks participating in the NPIP for compliance with the standards and to issue health certifications. Every spring, APHIS publishes a directory of participants handling egg-type and meat-type chickens and turkeys and a directory of participants handling waterfowl, exhibition poultry, game birds, and ratites. These directories list hatcheries, independent flocks, and dealers participating in the NPIP, the products they handle, and the disease classifications they participate in.