Abstract
This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of Newcastle disease (ND) among some local poultry species from live bird markets (LBM) and households in Makurdi Benue State, Nigeria. A total of 543 (300 local chickens, 199 pigeons and 44 ducks) sera samples were collected between October 2018 to April 2019. Sera samples were tested using Haemagglutination inhibition HI) test. The overall seroprevalence of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) antibodies was 9.9% (54/543). The prevalence of antibodies to ND was found to be higher in ducks 20.5% (9/44), followed by local chickens 10% (30/300) and pigeons 7.5% (15/199) respectively. There was statistical significant association (P = 0.000817) between location of sampling of local poultry and seropositivity for ND. Also there was a statistical significant association (P = 0.0348) between species of local poultry and ND antibody titre. This study revealed that local chickens, ducks and pigeons in Makurdi could play significant role in the epidemiology and transmission of ND to susceptible commercial exotic birds or other local poultry species especially when reared in close proximity. The study concluded that the prevalence of ND antibodies indicated the presence of the virus among the population and ducks and pigeons could be reservoirs and carriers for NDV. Vaccination campaign should be organized for local poultry species for the control of ND in the study area.
Highlights
Newcastle disease (ND) is a major viral disease of economic importance in poultry and rated as one of the greatest constraints to the development of rural poultry production in Nigeria and in most developing countries [1]
The seroprevalence and distribution of ND antibody titre by Haemagglutination inhibition test showed that 80% of the ducks sampled had antibody titre between 1-3 log2 while 0% and 20.5% had antibody titre ≥ 4log2 and ≥7log2 respectively
This implies that a greater proportion of the local poultry specie in the study area (91%) will be more vulnerable to challenge with a virulent strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) if there is an outbreak of the disease because of low level of antibody against ND
Summary
Newcastle disease (ND) is a major viral disease of economic importance in poultry and rated as one of the greatest constraints to the development of rural poultry production in Nigeria and in most developing countries [1]. According to the severity level of the outbreak in chicken, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was classified into three pathotypes namely: lentogenic, mesogenic, and velogenic strains. NDV is of high economic importance and worldwide occurrence has been reported including India [5, 6]. Serological evidence of ND infection in pigeons in Nigeria has been reported [14]. The poultry industry in Nigeria offer the quickest supply of animal protein to man in form of high quality eggs and meat and provides comparatively faster return to investment than
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