Egypt. Poult. Sci.

Vol (33) (I): (135-142)

PREVALENCE OF NEWCASTLE DISEASE IN VILLAGE CHICKENS

REARED IN LAFIA, NASARAWA STATE. NIGERIA.
By
D. I. Hassan 1*, Yusuf, N. D. 1, Musa-Azara, I. S.1, Ari, M.M.2, Ogah, D.M 2, Alaga,
A.A 3 and Elayo, S.A4
1
Anim. Sci. Dep., Coll. of Agric., P.M.B 033, Lafia, Nasarawa State- Nigeria.
2
Dep. of Anim. Sci., Fac. of Agric., Nasarawa State Univ. Keffi Shabu-Lafia campus.
3
Dep. of Vet. Path. and Mic., Coll. of Vete. Med. Univ. of Agric., Makurdi Benue
State- Nigeria.
4
Virology Dep., Federal Coll. of Vete. and Med. Lab. Techn., National Vet. Res. Insti.
P.M.B 01, Vom Plateau State- Nigeria.
*Corresponding author: Idris022@yahoo.com
Received: 22/01/2013

Accepted: 25/02/2013

ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Newcastle Disease
in Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Five districts were selected
which includes; Lafia central, Shabu, Kwandare, Assakio and Agyaragu. A total of 1,250
samples were randomly collected for a period of 18 months (June2011 to November, 2012).
Haemagglutination Inhibition (HI) Test was used to analyze 820 males and 430 female
chickens sera for Newcastle Disease (ND) virus antibodies using the haemagglutination
test method. Haemagglutination Inhibition test was used for detection and quantification of
antibodies against Newcastle Disease virus. The HI titre of each bird was determined and
expressed in log2 and the mean for each specie was calculated. The results showed that the
disease was present and infection had taken place with an overall serum antibody level of
28.72%.birds of the age 13-24 and >48 months were observed to have been mostly
affected. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). It also showed that only
chickens from Assakio had a mean antibody against death from challenge by virulent
Newcastle Disease virus.

INTRODUCTION
Village
poultry
also
called
Indigenous chicken or free-ranged is an
important agricultural activity of most
rural communities in Africa (Minga et al.,
1989 and Salihu et al., 2010) including
Nigeria. Estimate on livestock in Africa
shows that poultry population is the
highest, about 90% of these poultry are
found in rural areas under free range
production system and play a vital role in
many poor rural households (Alders et al.,
2004; Alexander et al., 2004; Hassan et al.,
2012). Poultry provide scarce animal
protein in the form of meat and egg and can

be sold or bartered to meet essential family

needs such as medicine, cloths and school
fees (FAO, 1997; Creevey, 1991; Salihu et
al., 2010). Village chickens are also active
in pest control, provide manure and are
required for special festivals and are
essential for many traditional ceremonies
and also fulfill a number of other functions
for which its difficult to assign any
monetary value (Alders and Spradbrow,
2000).
According
to
Alders
and
Spradbrow, (2001) the size of traditional
scavenging poultry flocks owned by both
African and Asian poultry keepers appear

D. I. HASSAN et al
to be similar, suggesting that the limits to
flock expansion are similar on both
continents. Factors such as feed resource
are likely to influence flock size and it is
probable that disease is one of the main
constraints to village chicken production.
Thus when flocks are routinely vaccinated
against diseases such as Newcastle disease
the average flock size increases.
Newcastle Disease is a viral disease
of birds caused by a filterable virus.
According to Alexander (1997) newcastle
disease virus belongs to the family Para
myxoviridae and It could be par acute,
acute and sometimes subclinical contagious
disease of poultry (Health et al., 1991).
Newcastle Disease is considered to
be among the most important disease of
poultry and its outbreaks could result to a
mortality up to 100% (Alders and
Spreadbrow, 2001; Saidu and Abdu, 2008).
Whiteman and Bickford, (1983)
reported that Newcastle Disease infection
takes occur through virus inhalation or
ingestion and its spread from one bird to
another depending on the availability of the
virus in its virulent infectious form and its
has a short incubation period of 5-6 days
(Chansiripomchai
and
Sasipreeyajan,
2006). Okwor and Eze, (2010) reported
that Newcastle disease affects the
respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous
systems of the infected birds with common
signs of listlessness, increased respiratory
rate, yellowish to greenish diarrhea and
weakness followed by prostration and
death.
In Nigeria, a study carried out in
rural chickens by Ezeokoli et al. (1984),
showed a 73% prevalence of antibodies
against Newcastle Disease virus in
traditionally managed backyard flocks in
Zaria, while 63% seroprevalence was
reported by Orajaka et al. (1999) in south
eastern Nigeria. In south western Nigeria
around Ibadan, 38% seroprevalence was
reported by Oyewola et al. (1996). These
observed regional differences in Newcastle
Disease seroprevalence showed ecological

area variations in Newcastle Disease virus

activity and may perhaps be a reflection of
the impact of environment on the viability
of Newcastle Disease virus, spread and its
epidemiology (Orajaka et al., 1999).
The target area of this research
work; Lafia local Government, is no
different although the majority (80%) of
farmers keep poultry, predominantly
chickens of indigenous breeds. This study
is aimed at investigating the incidence of
Newcastle disease in village chicken
through haematologgutination test (HT)
using avian sera and to propose a feasible
control and preventive measures against
this deadly disease in Lafia and its
environment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Location and Climate:
Lafia is the state capital of
Nasarawa state, located in the North
Central part of Nigeria between Latitude
835oN and longitudes 832oE; mean
temperature of 32oC and altitude 181.53m.
Five districts in Lafia were selected based
on the population of the rural poultry, these
districts were Lafia central, Shabu,
Kwandare, Assakio and Agyaragu. All
these districts can be approached from
different cardinal points from the Local
government.
Experimental
Management:

Birds

and

their

1250 local chickens were used in

this study and the type of management
system practiced was the extensive system.
Chickens scavenged around households
feeding on locally available feed resources
such as insects, kitchen wastes, residues
from farm harvest, earthworms etc. At
night they either perches on trees or in a
locally constructed houses. The birds were
not vaccinated but very occasionally
receives antibiotic tablet originally
intended for human use, water and
sometimes
supplementary
feeds
is
provided.
136

Prevalence, Newcastle disease, village chickens, antibodies.

Sampling
frame
Technique:

and

Blood Cells were allowed to settle at room

temperature (25oC) for 40 minutes. When
the red blood cells settled to distinct button,
test was read to the highest dilution of
serum causing complete inhibition of 4 HA
unit of antigen. The agglutination was
assessed more exactly by tilling the plates.
Only those wells in which the Red Blood
Cells streamed at the same rate as the
control, (containing 0.025ml RBC and
0.025ml PBS only) were considered as
showing inhibition. The validity of the
result was assessed against a negative
control serum which gave less than log 22
HI titre and a positive control serum which
had HI titre log 28

Sampling

Weekly visits were made to the

districts for stratified sampling which
includes chickens of all ages and sex. A
total of one thousand two hundred and fifty
(1250) blood samples were randomly
collected through the jugular or wing vein
using sterile 2 ml syringe and 21 G needle.
The blood samples were collected from
chickens of different ages using universal
bottles, and this includes 820 males and
430 female chickens. The samples were
slanted for effective clotting and for
maximum serum separation to take place.
The sampling period was from June, 2011
to November, 2012. All sample collected
were transported in ice-packed insulated
box to the laboratory in National
Veterinary Research Institute Vom Plateau
state. The separated sera were decanted into
sterile bijou bottle and stored at 20oC for
further analysis.
Haemagglutination
(HIT):

Inhibition

Statistical Analysis:
The results of haemagglutination
inhibition test for the eighteen (18) months
of sampling from June, 2011 to November,
2012 were subjected to Chi-square analysis
with a view to finding out which age class
of the chickens was susceptible to the
Newcastle disease virus. The antibody
titres of the sera from the five districts were
summed up to mean titre strength by
analysis of variance with a view to finding
which district chickens possessed the
antibodies that can adequately protect them
against the devastating effect of Newcastle
disease in the event of an outbreak.

Test

The test was based on inhibition of

Newcastle Disease viral agglutination by
specific Newcastle Disease antiserum as
described by
Beard (1989) and OIE
manual (2004). Phosphate buffered saline
in 0.025ml (1 vol.) volume was dispensed
into each well of a plastic V-bottom micro
titre plates. A volume of serum (0.025ml)
was added into the first well of the plates
and a two-fold serial dilution of the same
volumes of the serum was made across the
plates. One volume (0.025ml) of Newcastle
Disease virus antigen diluted to yield 4 HT
units was added into each well and left for
a maximum of 30 minutes at room
temperature of about 25oC. Equal volume
(0.025ml) of 1% chicken red blood cell was
thereafter added to each well. After gentle
mixing using a multi-plate shaker, Red

RESULTS
The haemagglutination inhibition
test of the two hundred and fifty samples
collected from each districts Lafia central
had 85.6% negative and 14.4% positive HI
titre. The negative HI titre for shabu was
66.8% against its positive of 33.2%.
Kwandare, Assakio and Agyaragu had
70.8% negative against 29.2% positive,
66.0% negative against 34.0% positive and
67.2% negative against 32.8% positive HI
titre respectively (Table 1).

137

D. I. HASSAN et al
Table (1): Percentage of birds from the five districts responding to the Haemagglutination
Inhibition Test.
S/N

Districts Collected

Total sample

Negative Titre (%)

Positive Titre (%)

Lafia central

250

85.6 (214)*

36 (14.4)*

Shabu

250

66.8 (167)*

83 (33.2)*

Kwadare

250

70.8 (177)*

73 (29.2)*

Assakio

250

66.0 (165)*

85 (34.0)*

Agyaragu

250

67.2 (168)*

82 (32.8)*

* Actual number of birds responding to HI test.

The HI titre of serum antibody

obtained from sample collected from the
districts were shown in (Table 2). A total of
28.72% serum antibody was obtained from
the sera samples collected. Of the serum

antibodies obtained, 10% gave a HI titre

strength of log 21, 6.64% had log 22, log 23
and 24 had 2.8% each while log 25 had
1.36%, log 26 had 1.44% while logs 27 and
> 28 constituted 1.84%.

Table (2): Serum antibody titre levels in village chicken from the five districts.
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
> 28
S/N Districts
(10)* (6.64) (2.8) (2.8) (1.36) (1.44) (1.84) (1.84) (28.72)
Lafia central 14
9
4
1
2
1
2
3
1
Shabu
33
19
8
8
4
3
5
3
2
Kwadare
30
20
4
5
3
4
4
3
3
Assakio
16
17
7
10
4
10
10
11
4
Agyaragu
32
18
12
11
4
0
2
5
5
* Percentage serum antibody levels at various agglutinations

The distribution of Newcastle

disease prevalence according to different
age groups of the village chicken is shown
in Table 3. Chi-square analysis was used in
determining the susceptibility of the
different age groups to the Newcastle

disease virus. The result revealed that

chickens between the ages of 9-12 months
had chi-square value of 9.75. 13-24 months
had 2.69. Birds of 25-36 months had 6.74
while those of over 48 months of age had
0.0012.

138

Prevalence, Newcastle disease, village chickens, antibodies.

Table (3): Susceptibility of Age class to Newcastle disease virus in village chicken from
the five districts.
Age class in Months Positive HI Test Negative HI Test Total
X2 value
9-12
21 (6.95)*
108 (2.80)*
129
9.75
13-24
134 (1.92)*
280 (0.77)*
414
2.69
25-36
118 (3.74)*
226 (1.50)*
344
5.24
37-48
50 (4.80)*
187 (1.94)*
237
6.74
>48
36 (0.0008)*
90 (0.0004)*
126
0.0012
Total
359 (17.41)*
891 (7.0104)*
1250
24.4212*
*Chi-square values of different age class of birds for both positive and negative
haemagglutination inhibition titres.
From statistical analysis there is significant difference (P<0.05) in the prevalence of
Newcastle Disease antibodies according to different age class of the chicken (Table 3).

Appendix 1
Analysis of variance for HI titre strength
Source
Districts
Error
Total

BF
4
355
359

Seg. SS
145.667
1654.233
1799.900

Adi. SS
145.667
1654.233

Adj. MS
36.417
4.660

F
7.82

F
0.000

Means for Strength

Districts
1
2
3
4
5

Mean
2.833
2.568
2.789
4.106
2.482

St. Dev.
0.3598
0.2399
0.2493
0.2341
0.2369

of Newcastle in large number of local

chickens in Nigeria.
Furthermore the results agrees with
the field observations by Saidu et al.,
(2004) who stated that It is important to
note that even among the galliformes, the
village or local chicken has the highest
mean HI antibody titre than all other
galliformes tested. This could mean that the
chicken is more susceptible to Newcastle
Disease viral infection than all other
species of bird tested. Similarly, further

DISCUSSION
The
results
of
the
Haemagglutination inhibition test an all the
sampled village chickens from the studied
areas showed the presence of Newcastle
Disease. Though, the trend of distribution
of the Newcastle Disease virus varied from
place to place. It is significant to note that
the virus is within the state. This finding is
confirms an earlier report by Friend and
Trainer (1970) of the serological evidence

139

D. I. HASSAN et al
reported that Newcastle Disease virus is
very endemic. In fact this finding is not
only of significance to the farmer as a
result of the death of the chickens but that
such affected chickens if survived could
eventually become carriers and help in
disseminating the virus to other birds.
The study revealed that, the
presence of HI antibody in 28.72% of the
village chickens sampled showed that the
disease was present land infection had
taken place hence the development of that
level of antibody. Zeleke et al., (2005)
reported that, the significant sero positive
rate of Newcastle Disease in village
chickens is indicative of the continuous
infection pressure. This might be because
of the free ranging management system that
allows the uninterrupted cycle of infection
as the virus passes from one to the other.
The chickens are also prone to
acquire infection from wild birds. Since the
birds were not vaccinated, they may have
been exposed to natural infection in the
field. The finding is similar to the report by
Alexander (1990) who reported Newcastle
Disease antibody in the serum of
unvaccinated chickens shows that infection
had taken place. This finding is not unexpecting as chickens under the extensive
system of management are likely to show
higher preponderance of the disease due to
lack of vaccination. Furthermore the
exhibition of various levels of antibodies in
the sampled birds indicates varying levels
of exposure to the Newcastle Disease virus
hence their expected immune status. This
has confirmed an earlier report by Alders
and Spradbrow (2001) that the disease in
chickens is dependent among other factors
on the expected immune status of the host
and environmental conditions.
As for the prevalence of Newcastle
Disease with respect to age, the results
revealed
variations
in
terms
of
susceptibility to the disease virus within the

different age class. This shows that there

was association between age of chickens
and Newcastle Disease infection. Results of
Chi-square analysis showed chickens of
age of 13-24 and >48 months to be mostly
affected. This finding agrees with the report
by Alexander (1998) who enumerated age
of the chickens as one of the chief
determining factors in the pathogenicity of
Newcastle Disease virus.
The study also revealed that,
chickens of 48 months and above had a
high prevalence of the disease, since the
infection is immune related (Alders and
Spradbrow, 2001; Alexander, 1998), the
finding is not unusual. This is because
while at an early age the immunity is not
yet fully developed, at the other extreme.
i.e. as the chicken ages, the immunity
wanes down thereby making the bird more
prone or less resistant to the invading virus,
this finding is also significant, even though
the Newcastle Disease prevalence appeared
to be more in the younger chickens. It also
affects birds of all ages.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The control of this Newcastle Disease in
village chickens can make a vital
contribution to the improvement of
household food security and poverty
alleviation in our state and country at large.
In some circumstances, contact between
small scale farmers and veterinary services
which in the long run will contribute to
improved village poultry production as a
whole is recommended. Based on this
result, further study should be carryout in
other areas of the state in general and also
virus isolation and characterization of the
spreading virus strains should be carried
out to provide more information that could
be used in formulating and planning an
effective control of the disease in the state,
thus providing good ground for total
control in the country.

140

Prevalence, Newcastle disease, village chickens, antibodies.

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