Journal of Veterinary and Applied Sciences

Abstract
Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is among the important pathogens that cause diseases in poultry, with very high economic implications. Newcastle disease is endemic in many parts of the world. Poultry is one of the most important sectors in agriculture, providing animal protein in form of meat and eggs to humans, as well as contributing to the national income through revenue. This study evaluated the occurrence of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in selected farms and markets in Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria. These included Jalingo Live Bird Market, Mile Six Live Bird Market, Nukkai Farm, Magami Farm and Nature’s Gift Agro Business Farm. Fifty cloacal swab samples were collected from chickens for the study. They were inoculated into 9-day old embryonated chicken eggs. Haemagglutination and haemagglutination inhibitions tests were done following standard procedures. Results showed that six out of the 50 (12%) were found to be positive with NDV. Jalingo live bird market showed highest frequency of occurrence with 3 out of 10 (30%) samples found to be positive. This was followed by Mile Six live bird market, with 2 out of 10 samples (20%) found to be positive, and Magami Farm which showed the lowest frequency of 1 out of 10 (10%) positive. It was concluded, based on this preliminary investigation that the occurrence of NDV in Jalingo and environs is 12%, and that NDV occurrence is higher in live bird markets than in farms. Routine and regular Newcastle disease vaccination was recommended.

Keywords: Newcastle disease virus (NDV); Occurrence; Embryonated eggs; Exotic breeds of chickens; Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria.

How to cite this article:
Tirmidhi AB, Princewill J, Abubakar UY, Mameh M, Hureira AT, Haulatu BA, Garba D and Peter FD (2024). Preliminary evaluation
of the occurrence of Newcastle disease virus in exotic breeds of chickens in Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria. Journal of Veterinary
and Applied Sciences, 14(2): 701 – 706.

*Correspondence: E-mail: yunusaumara2@gmail.com Phone: +2348035949990

Preliminary evaluation of the occurrence of Newcastle disease virus in exotic breeds of chickens in Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria

Aliyu B. Tirmidhi ¹, Jonah Princewill ¹, Umar Y. Abubakar ^{2 *}, Manga, Mameh ², Abba T. Hureira ³, Baba A. Haulatu ⁴, Danjuma Garba ⁵ and Francis D. Peter ²
¹ Department of Animal Science, Taraba State University, Jalingo, Taraba State. Nigeria.
² College of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Jalingo, Taraba State. Nigeria.
³ Federal College of Education, Yola Adamawa State, Nigeria.
⁴ College of Agriculture, Ganye, Adamawa State, Nigeria.
⁵ State Action on AIDs (SACA) Taraba State, Nigeria.