Abstract
The double-spurred francolin Francolinus bicalcaratus has been identified as a good candidate for future domestication due to the universal acceptability of its meat and its adaptability to anthropogenically altered environments. Therefore, in investigating the diseases to which they are susceptible, serum samples from 56 francolins in a major live-bird market (LBM) in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria, were screened for antibodies against Newcastle disease (ND) and infectious bursal disease (IBD) viruses. Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) revealed 25.0% and 35.7% prevalence of ND virus (NDV) antibodies, respectively, while 5.4% and 57.1% prevalence of IBD virus (IBDV) antibodies was detected by agar gel precipitation test (AGPT) and ELISA, respectively. This first report on the occurrence of NDV and IBDV antibodies in apparently healthy, unvaccinated double-spurred francolins from a LBM suggests that they were subclinically infected with either field or vaccine viruses and could thus serve as possible reservoirs of these viruses to domestic poultry. Furthermore, if they are to be domesticated for intensive rearing, a vaccination plan including ND and IBD should be developed and implemented.
Highlights
Newcastle disease (ND) and infectious bursal disease (IBD) are the two most dreaded viral diseases of poultry in Nigeria as they cause severe economic losses in domestic and wild bird populations resulting from illness, reduced egg production, immunosuppression, and death following infection with pathogenic strains of their respective causative viruses
The Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titers ranged from 1 : 2 to 1 : 32 while mean ND virus (NDV) antibody titer obtained with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was 3206
Mean IBD virus (IBDV) antibody titer obtained with the ELISA was 5735 and there was a 50% agreement between the agar gel precipitation test (AGPT) and ELISA
Summary
Newcastle disease (ND) and infectious bursal disease (IBD) are the two most dreaded viral diseases of poultry in Nigeria as they cause severe economic losses in domestic and wild bird populations resulting from illness, reduced egg production, immunosuppression, and death following infection with pathogenic strains of their respective causative viruses. According to Docherty and Friend [6], it is capable of infecting over 230 species from more than one-half of the 50 orders of birds. These include domestic poultry [7, 8] and wild birds such as house sparrows, hawks, crows, double-breasted cormorants, and waterfowls [9,10,11,12,13]. The most virulent form of ND virus (NDV) causes up to 100 percent mortality in affected flocks [6]
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