Strains of Newcastle disease Virus, Circulating among Sick Poultry Flocks in Nsukka-Nigeria

Aim: To study prevalence of the different strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) circulating among sick poultry flocks, NDV detected from disease outbreaks in Nsukka-Nigeria were characterized into the three main NDV strains.

Materials and Methods: NDV was detected from 63 cases of poultry disease that manifested clinical signs and lesions suggestive of Newcastle disease (ND), by the haemagglutination test. The detected NDV samples were characterized by a combination of their ability to agglutinate mammalian erythrocytes and their erythrocyte elution time (EET).

Results: Fifty three out of 63 (84%) NDV samples detected from the ND cases belonged to Lentogenic strains while 10 (16%) were Mesogenic strains. None was of the Velogenic strains.

Conclusion: Rates of circulation of Lentogenic, Mesogenic and Velogenic NDV strains among sick poultry flocks in Nsukka- Nigeria suggest that the practice of using live NDV vaccines for prophylaxis may be an important factor in epizootiology of Newcastle disease in the country.