Abstract
Newcastle disease (ND), caused by Newcastle disease virus (NDV), is a contagious disease that affects a variety of domestic and wild avian species. Though ND is vaccine-preventable, it is a persistent threat to poultry industry across the globe. The disease represents a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in chickens. To better understand the epidemiology of NDV among commercial and backyard chickens of Odisha, where chicken farming is being prioritized to assist with poverty alleviation, a cross-sectional study was conducted in two distinct seasons during 2018. Choanal swabs (n = 1361) from live birds (commercial layers, broilers, and backyard chicken) and tracheal tissues from dead birds (n = 10) were collected and tested by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the presence of matrix (M) and fusion (F) genes of NDV. Risk factors at the flock and individual bird levels (health status, ND vaccination status, geographical zone, management system, and housing) were assessed using multivariable logistic regression analyses. Of the 1371 samples tested, 160 were positive for M gene amplification indicating an overall apparent prevalence of 11.7% (95% CI 10.1–13.5%). Circulation of virulent NDV strains was also evident with apparent prevalence of 8.1% (13/160; 95% CI: 4.8–13.4%). In addition, commercial birds had significantly higher odds (75%) of being infected with NDV as compared to backyard poultry (p = 0.01). This study helps fill a knowledge gap in the prevalence and distribution of NDV in apparently healthy birds in eastern India, and provides a framework for future longitudinal research of NDV risk and mitigation in targeted geographies—a step forward for effective control of ND in Odisha.
Highlights
Newcastle disease (ND) is a well-known viral disease that poses a threat to the poultry industry globally even a century after its first description in 1926 in Indonesia
A total of 1371 samples were collected from 157 sites that included 708 samples from backyard chicken, 411 samples from commercial broilers, and 252 samples from commercial layers (Table 2)
Prevalence of Newcastle disease virus based on matrix gene (M gene) detection
Summary
Newcastle disease (ND) is a well-known viral disease that poses a threat to the poultry industry globally even a century after its first description in 1926 in Indonesia. The Newcastle disease virus (NDV), the causative agent of ND, is classified under the family Paramyxoviridae, subfamily Avulavirinae, genus Orthoavulavirus and species Avian orthoavulavirus [1,2]. The genome of NDV is a single-stranded, negative-sense RNA, which is about 15kb in length. It encodes six genes in the order: nucleoprotein (NP), phosphoprotein (P), fusion protein (F), matrix protein (M), hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN), and RNA large polymerase (L) [3]. NDV is categorized into five pathotypes that include asymptomatic enteric, lentogenic, mesogenic, viscerotropic-velogenic, and neurotropic-velogenic strains. The amino acid sequence of the unprocessed F protein cleavage site determines the pathogenic potential of NDV in chickens [4]
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