EXOTIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE IN MD/NEW YORK-USDA Exotic Newcastle, a highly contagious disease of pet birds and poultry, has been confirmed in two pet-bird dealer facilities in Maryland, and New York, the U.S. Agriculture Department said. The department said no domestic poultry are involved in the outbreak. State quarantines have been placed on the two facilities, in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and Schenectady, New York. The most serious U.S. outbreak of the disease occurred in 1971-73 in southern California, where the disease spread from infected pet birds to a dense poultry population and nearly 12 mln birds, mostly laying hens, were destroyed at a cost of 56 mln dlrs, the department said.