Abstract

---

Newcastle disease (ND) is the most important viral disease of poultry in the world and a major constraint against both Industrial and village poultry production in Africa and Asia. A serological study was conducted to estimate the level of circulating antibodies against ND in unvaccinated local chickens, raised under traditional management system in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test was used to analyze 400 chicken sera (252 live bird market and 88 household chickens) for NDV antibodies from four Local Government Areas (LGAs) -Udenu, Nsukka, Igbo-Eze South and Igbo-Eze North- all within Nsukka Zone. The overall seroprevalence rate was 60.3% and only 47.1% of chicken had HI antibody titre of > 41og2 which was considered protective. A seroprevalence rate of 65.1% and 46.6% and a Geometric Mean titer (GMT) of 207.9 and 11.3 were obtained from live bird markets and households chickens respectively. About 52.9% of chickens sampled were at risk of suffering clinical ND. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the overall antibody prevalence rate between live bird market chickens and household chickens and between the age groups. A seroprevalence rate of 60.3% NDV antibodies in apparently healthy chickens observed in this study is suggestive of the presence and continuous circulation of NDV in the study area. Hence, improvement of extension services, biosecurity measures, and routine vaccination with thermostable NDV vaccines are highly recommended.

Keywords: Haemagglutination inhibition (HI), Household chickens, Live bird market, Newcastle disease (ND), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Seroprevalence.