Abstract
The study was conducted in the southern province of Sierra Leone for a period of seven months (March – September 2019). The main objective of the study was to investigate the seroprevalence level of Newcastle disease antibodies in apparently healthy free-range chickens in selected chiefdoms in the Moyamba District of Sierra Leone. A total of three hundred and thirty-three chickens were included in the study. Sera samples collected were analyzed using competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The result of the investigation revealed an overall prevalence of 56.4% from which 21.6% and 34.8% were male and female chickens respectively. Kaiyamba chiefdom recorded the highest antibodies (73.9%), followed by Lower Banta (53.1%) and Bumpe (42.3%) chiefdoms. The difference in the prevalence of each category showed that adult female chickens were the most susceptible (67.5%) to Newcastle disease followed by the growers (55.8%) and adult male chickens (45.9%). Due to the lack of Newcastle disease vaccination history in the study areas, indigenous chickens had been exposed to the disease naturally in all the chiefdoms. Raising awareness about the disease through effective extension programs and improved animal healthcare services and husbandry practices is of great importance.
Highlights
100% vaccine-preventable, Newcastle disease (ND) is an acute, destructive, and infectious viral infection affecting both wild and domestic birds including humans [1, 2]
There was a high susceptibility of female chickens to ND compared to the male chickens. 116 (34.8%) of the sampled female chickens during the study were seropositive while 72 (21.6%) of the male chickens tested positive for Newcastle disease virus (NDV) antibodies
The findings described in this study is similar to that of [27], who reported ND to be transmitted via ingestion of contaminated water and feed, trade-in live birds, the introduction of live birds through gift and exchange
Summary
100% vaccine-preventable, Newcastle disease (ND) is an acute, destructive, and infectious viral infection affecting both wild and domestic birds including humans [1, 2]. Considering the virulence nature of the ND, it has been categorized into velogenic (highly), mesogenic (intermediate) and lentogenic (low) pathogenicity [6] It infects and kills thousands of unprotected chickens in high-risk communities especially in developing countries where animal healthcare services, good animal husbandry practices coupled with farmers’ knowledge are lacking and/or inadequate. It is a notifiable disease by the World Organization of Animal Health considering its huge economic impact and other unquantifiable consequences on the poultry industry and the household. The global impact and prevalence of ND are yet to be fully understood as many
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