Seroprevalence of Newcastle disease in local chickens in Mezam division of North-west Cameroon

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of Newcastle disease antibodies in free-range chickens in five subdivisions of Mezam, North-west Province, Cameroon. Haemagglutination inhibition test was used to detect Newcastle disease antibodies. Results indicate that out of the 390 samples analyzed, 41 (10.5%) tested positive for Newcastle disease antibodies, with highest seroprevalence occurring in 20 (46.5%) in Bamenda central division, followed by Santa 7 (16.3%), Tuba 6 (14%), Bafut 6 (14%) and the lowest in Bali 4 (4.7%). Analysis of variance revealed that there was highly significant difference between the subdivisions (P < 0.01). The seroprevalence of Newcastle disease antibodies were observed in all the subdivisions. It was concluded from this study that free range chickens in Mezam had exposure to Newcastle disease virus and they could serve as a source of transmission to commercial exotic breed of poultry.

Keywords: Cameroon, haemagglutination inhibition, local chickens, Newcastle disease.