Abstract
Since the first outbreak of avian influenza (AI) in Nigeria in 2006, there has been continuous monitoring of the disease in chickens with little attention given to turkeys. As part of on-going surveillance for AI in southwest Nigeria, we used a competitive ELISA to detect anti-AI virus antibodies in 520 turkey sera obtained from poultry farms in Oyo, Osun, and Ondo states while haemagglutination inhibiting antibodies against low pathogenic AI viruses (LPAIVs) were detected using H3N8 and H5N2 subtype-specific antigens. The overall seroprevalence obtained by ELISA was 4.4% (23/520). Of the 23 ELISA-positive samples, 18 were positive for anti-AIV H3N8 antibodies only and four were positive for both anti-AIV H3N8 and H5N2 antibodies indicating a mixed infection, while five were negative for antibodies to either of the two AIV subtypes. Considering that turkeys have been implicated as a mixing vessel for generating influenza virus reassortants of human and avian origin, the detection of antibodies to LPAIV H3N8 and H5N2 in these turkeys is of public health concern. We advocate further studies to determine the potential role of turkeys in the zoonotic transmission of AIVs in Nigeria. Additionally, the practice of rearing turkeys with chickens should be discouraged.
Highlights
Avian influenza (AI) is a highly contagious disease caused by type A influenza viruses, a member of the family Orthomyxoviridae [1]
Many species of domestic and wild birds worldwide have been shown to be susceptible to infection with avian influenza viruses (AIVs), with aquatic birds constituting a major reservoir of these viruses which have been reported to occur in poultry in either the highly pathogenic or low pathogenic forms; the overwhelming majority of isolates are of low pathogenicity for chickens and turkeys [5, 6]
It was observed in two farms that the turkeys were kept in close proximity to pig pens while the farmers interviewed in Ondo state indicated their preference for rearing chickens instead of turkeys
Summary
Avian influenza (AI) is a highly contagious disease caused by type A influenza viruses, a member of the family Orthomyxoviridae [1]. Many species of domestic and wild birds worldwide have been shown to be susceptible to infection with avian influenza viruses (AIVs), with aquatic birds constituting a major reservoir of these viruses which have been reported to occur in poultry in either the highly pathogenic or low pathogenic forms; the overwhelming majority of isolates are of low pathogenicity for chickens and turkeys [5, 6]. Turkeys are susceptible to a wide range of influenza A viruses and, as a major exception to the host range restriction rule, are routinely infected with swine-like influenza viruses [7]. Infections in turkeys range from asymptomatic to severe disease including respiratory tract disease, depression, drop in egg production, and high mortality [7, 8]
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