The California Poultry Health Board (CPHB) is the official state agency which administers the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). The NPIP is a state, federal and industry cooperative program that began in the 1930s to coordinate state efforts aimed at eliminating certain diseases from poultry breeding flocks and hatcheries. Since the program’s inception, the NPIP has added provisions and changed programs to meet the needs of the poultry industry. The provisions of the Plan, developed jointly by industry members and state and federal officials, establish testing standards and protocols used to monitor and control diseases spread through the reproduction process.

The CPHB certifies chicken, turkey and game bird flocks to be free of certain poultry diseases. Flocks are tested under NPIP provisions at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratories located throughout the state. Being a member of NPIP allows for the safe movement of hatching eggs and live birds within the state, across state lines, and into other countries. This voluntary program protects both the consumer and the industry.

NPIP participants are classified under the following categories:
Subpart B: Egg-Type Chicken
Subpart C: Meat-Type Chicken
Subpart D: Turkey
Subpart E: Waterfowl, Exhibition Poultry, and Game Bird Breeding Flocks

NPIP Programs disease control programs:

• Pullorum-Typhoid Clean
• Mycoplasma gallisepticum Clean
• Mycoplasma synoviae Clean
• Mycoplasma meleagridis Clean
• Avian Influenza Clean
• Salmonella enteritidis Clean
• Mycoplasma gallisepticum Monitored
• Mycoplasma synoviae Monitored
• Salmonella Monitored
• Sanitation Monitored

The California Poultry Health Board also manages the recently approved H5/H7 Low Path Avian Influenza Control Program for commercial table-egg layers, broilers and turkeys. The Program provides for the payment of indemnity for costs associated with eradication of the H5/H7 subtypes of low pathogenic avian influenza in poultry. The H5/H7 subtypes of low pathogenic avian influenza can mutate into highly pathogenic avian influenza, a disease that can have serious economic and public health consequences. This combination of a control program and indemnity provisions is necessary to help ensure that the H5/H7 subtypes of low pathogenic avian influenza are detected and eradicated when they occur within the United States.

For more information or questions on the NPIP program, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it at 209-576-6355.

Additional Information
California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory (CAHFS)
NPIP