Seroprevalence of Newcastle disease virus in chickens in six local government areas of Benue state, Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of Newcastle Disease (ND) antibodies in apparently healthy chickens in commercial poultry farms, village households and Live Bird Markets (LBMs) in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Benue state, Nigeria. Methodology: A total of 1,370 sera were collected and screened for ND antibodies by Haemagglutination Inhibition (HI) test and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The overall seroprevalence by HI was 66.5% (911/1,370) with a mean HI antibody titre of 5.87±0.11 log2 with the highest seroprevalence of 88.7% (189/213) recorded in Otukpo LGA and 75.1% (232/309) in commercial chickens. About 43.1% (591/1370) of the birds had protective antibody titre of ≥4 log2 while 32.1% (440/1370) of seropositive birds had antibody titre ≥7 log2. The overall seroprevalence of ND using ELISA was 98.3% (226/230) with a mean titre of 3.65±0.03 log10 and the highest seroprevalence recorded in chickens from Katsina-Ala, Oju and Otukpo LGAs (100%) and birds from commercial farms and LBMs (100%). Conclusion: The study concludes that birds in Benue state were exposed to ND virus and the virus was circulating in apparently healthy chickens and this could be considered an important epidemiological factor in the spread of the disease in the state.