Volume 15, Issue 2: 2025 - Article 195

Abstract
It is locally believed anecdotally that the Dominant Black (DB) breed of chicken pullets is more resistant to Newcastle disease virus (NDV) infection than the Isa Brown (IB) breed. The present study investigated the comparative susceptibility to and pathology of velogenic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) infection in DB and IB pullets. A total of 120 day-old pullets, comprising 60 DB and 60 IB chicks were procured from a reliable hatchery for the study. They were brooded and reared to 10 weeks of age before they were used for the study. Baseline serological screening prior to inoculation confirmed that none of the birds had detectable NDV antibodies. They were randomly assigned into four groups of 30 each (Group 1 – Infected DB, Group 2 – Uninfected DB, Group 3 – Infected IB, and Group 4 Uninfected IB).  Pullets in Groups 1 and 3 were intramuscularly inoculated with 0.1 ml of the velogenic NDV strain Kudu 113, while pullets in Groups 2 and 4 served as the uninfected controls for each breed, respectively. Following viral challenge, clinical signs, which included anorexia, depression, huddling, and white-greenish diarrhoea, were observed in both infected DB and IB pullets from day 2 post-infection (PI), with 100% morbidity by day 3 PI and marked weight loss by day 5 PI. All birds from both groups succumbed to the infection (100% mortality), precluding follow-up serology. Necropsy revealed gross lesions including congested skeletal muscles, proventricular haemorrhages, intestinal ulcers, swollen caecal tonsils and atrophy of the bursa and thymus, the presence and degree of which were equally comparable in both breeds. Histopathological examination showed severe lymphocyte depletion and fibrin deposition in the spleen and thymus of both infected breeds by day 3 PI. It was concluded that the clinical signs, gross and histological findings associated with NDV infection in Dominant Black and Isa Brown pullets do not significantly differ; both breeds were equally susceptible to NDV infection.


Keywords: Chicken breeds; Pullets; Dominant Black; Isa Brown; Newcastle disease virus infection; Susceptibility; Pathology.

How to cite this article:
Odenigbo GI, Onoja RI, Shoyinka SVO and Okoye JOA (2025). Comparison of the susceptibility to and pathology of the velogenic Newcastle disease virus infection in chicken pullets of the Dominant Black and Isa Brown breeds. Journal of Veterinary and Applied Sciences, 15(2): 1108 – 1118.

*Correspondence: E-mail:  gabriel.odenigbo@uniben.edu.ng      Phone: +2348033797826

Comparison of the susceptibility to and pathology of the velogenic Newcastle disease virus infection in chicken pullets of the Dominant Black and Isa Brown breeds
Gabriel I. Odenigbo ¹ *, Remigius I. Onoja ², Shodeinde V.O. Shoyinka ², John O. A. Okoye <sup>2

1</sup> Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria
² Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, 410001, Nsukka, Enugu  State, Nigeria.

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