Attitude of poultry farmers towards vaccination against newcastle disease and avian influenza in Ibadan, Nigeria

Newcastle disease (ND) and Avian Influenza (AI) are among the important viral diseases of poultry with very high economic implications. ND is enzootic in most parts of the world while Highly Pathogenic AI (HPAI) is an emerging zoonosis in Nigeria. This study was carried out to assess the perception and attitude of poultry farmers in the selected Local Government Areas in Ibadan towards vaccination of birds against these diseases, and to find out the types of vaccines that were available for the control of the two diseases. A total of 84 respondents out of 100 (84%) completed and returned the questionnaires administered. The results indicated that all farmers vaccinated their birds against ND. The regime for ND vaccination was not the same across the local government areas. Some 32 (38.1%) farmers operated vaccination schedules provided by hatchery technicians, while 43 (51.2%) farmers vaccinated their birds at about 4-6 weeks interval. Nine (10.7%) farmers combined hatchery and laboratory evaluation to determine schedule. Thirty nine farmers (46.4%) indicated that they were aware of national policy of non-vaccination against AI. However, 14 out of 84 farmers (16.7%) vaccinated their birds against HPAI. There is a need to continue the national policy of slaughter of HPAI infected poultry birds and compensation of farmers, albeit allowing strategic use of vaccine to effectively control HPAI outbreaks in south-western part of Nigeria

Vitamin A Deficiency in Commercial Layers - A Case Report

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Cellular and mucosal immune responses in the respiratory tract of Nigerian goats following intranasal administration of inactivated Recombinant Mannheimia hemolytica bacterine

Summary: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the cellular and mucosal responses in the respiratory tract of Nigerian goats vaccinated intranasally with recombinant Mannheimia hemolytica bacterine. Twenty one goats were divided into five groups, five goats each in three vaccinated groups while three goats each in two other groups serve as positive and negative control. Group A was vaccinated once; group B was vaccinated twice at one week interval, and group D at twice at two weeks interval. Group C1 were the unvaccinated and challenged, while group C2 were unvaccinated and unchallenged. The bronchoalveolar lavage differential counts and bronchial associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) responses were measured using Giemsa stained thin smear of the cell fraction of the lavage and histomorphometry. ANOVA were employed and significance was at p>0.05. The post-challenge macrophage to neutrophil (M:N) ratio values of group B goats was the highest and the ratio differed from other groups which had much lower M:N values. The exposure in group B resulted in significant increase in number and size of BALTs as well as the number of lymphocytes in BALT than those of the other groups. This study showed that intranasal vaccination of the recombinant Mannheimia hemolytica bacterine twice at a week interval was more efficient in inducing strong mucosal and defensive cellular responses in the respiratory tract.Keywords: Cellular responses, intranasal recombinant Mannheimia hemolytica bacterine, Nigerian goa

Gastric Mucosa Re-epithelisation, Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis During Healing of Acetic Acid-Induced Ulceration in Thyroxine Treatment and Thyroidectomy on Rats

We had earlier reported that thyroxine treatment accelerates gastric ulcer healing while thyroidectomy delayed the processes of healing. Thus, this research was carried out to gain more insight about the mechanisms by which thyroxine affect ulcer healing. Male albino rats (160 – 200g) were used. They were divided into four groups viz: control, thyroidectomised, thyroidectomised with thyroxine treatment (100μg/kg/day) and Sham operated animals treated with thyroxine. After 35 days of drug treatment and surgery, ulcer was induced in stomach of animals using acetic acid method. Animals were sacrificed on days 3, 7 and 10 post ulcer induction for ulcer healing assessment. Healing was observed by measuring ulcer depth and width, lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation during healing. Result showed that by day 10, thyroxine treatment significantly decreased the ulcer width and depth by 69.3 ± 1.5% and 65.7 ± 1.4% (p< 0.01) respectively while thyroidectomy significantly reduced by (34.1 ± 0.5%) and (35.6 ± 7.5%) (p< 0.05) compared with control (40.5 ± 2.2%) and (53.9 ± 1.6%). Thyroxine treated animals had highest reduction in lipid peroxidation (57.0 ± 0.5% [p< 0.001]) and the least reduction in thyroidectomised animals (15.7 ± 1.6% [p< 0.05]) as compared with control (19.6 ± 1.6%). DNA fragmentation was low in all groups by day 3, but by day 10 the higher DNA fragmentation in thyroxine treated animal supports the rapid reduction in ulcer dimensions recorded. In conclusion, thyroxine treatment accelerated gastric ulcer healing by accelerating mucosa re-epithelization, reduction of lipid peroxidation and apoptotic mechanism.Keywords: Ulcer Healing; Thyroxine; Lipid peroxidation; Apoptosi

Outbreak of Peste Des Petits Ruminants in West African Dwarf Goats in Eruwa, Southwestern Nigeria

In Nigeria, goats play a significant socioeconomic role in the life of rural people. Recently, there had been report of high mortality of goats especially the kids under one year with none of such among sheep reared together in Eruwa, Southwestern Nigeria. An investigation was conducted to ascertain the cause of the deaths. Clinical, pathological and serological findings were described. Serum samples of forty-two animals from affected goats of varied ages were tested for the presence of PPR antibodies by competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA).Post mortem examination of three of the carcasses and histopathology of the lungs, segments of the oral mucosa and intestine were also done. The clinical findings observed include loss of appetite, oculo-nasal mucopurulent discharges, dyspnoea, profuse diarrhea and death, the findings led to the tentative diagnosis of PPR. Serum samples from fifteen out of twenty affected,10 out of 10 recovered and 7 apparently healthy goats were tested positive for the presence of PPR antibodies using cELISA. It was also observed that PPRV antibodies were more in goats below one and half years. However, no PPR antibodies were detected in sheep reared together with the goats. At histopathology, there were thickening of the alveolar septa walls with mononuclear cells and presence of varying numbers of macrophages and characteristic giant cells within the alveoli. This is apparently another documented case of PPR after thirty one years of the first report in this community. This showed that obvious concerted efforts in the control of the disease should be harnessed. Enhanced awareness and sensitization campaign among the stockowners towards adoption of annual vaccination of goats before the` onset of rain was recommended.Keywords: Peste des petits ruminants, outbreak, WAD goats, Serology, cELISA, NigeriaNigerian Veterinary Journal, VOL:32 (4) 331-33

The Differential Susceptibility of Yoruba Ecotype Nigerian Indigenous Chicken Varieties To Newcastle Disease

This experiment was conducted to assess and compare the susceptibility of the varieties of Yoruba indigenous chicken ecotype: Yoruba Smooth Feathered (YSF), Yoruba Frizzled Feathered (YFF) and Yoruba Naked Neck (YNN) to Newcastle disease. A total of sixty (60) 16 weeks old chickens were used comprising of twenty (20) chickens per variety. The assessmentof their susceptibility to Newcastle disease was by evaluation of clinical signs, humoral response, mortality, pathology following contact with Newcastle disease infected chickens. The experimental chickens developed clinical signs of Newcastle disease from day 9 after infection. Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) titre was determined on days 0, 21and28 post-infection. On day 0, the HI titre of the 3 genotypes were below 3log2, on day 21, there were significant differences within the group (P<0.05) where in YNN had the highest mean HI titre of 7.5. Therewas decrease in the mean HI titre in all on day 28 with the YNN having the least reduction (P<0.05). The antibody titre against Newcastle disease was higher in the YNN than all the other varieties. The mortality commenced on day 10 after infection with 70% mortality in YSF, 40% in YFF and 30% in YNN. The proventricular, enteric and caecal tonsilar haemorrhages associated with the disease were more frequent and severe in YSF.This finding indicated that YFF and YSF may possibly be more susceptible to Newcastle disease than the YNN. It was concluded that indigenous chickens of Yoruba ecotype in Nigeria differ in their susceptibility to ND with YNN being possibly the most resistant to Newcastle disease followed by YFF and the least, YSF.Keywords: Hemagglutination inhibition, Newcastle Disease, indigenous Chicken, Ecotype, Varietie

Retrospective study of diseases and associated pneumonia type diagnosed in dogs at post-mortem at Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

The causes and types of pneumonia in dogs have not been accorded due attention in Nigeria. It is imperative to investigate the incidence and type of pneumonia commonly observed during post-mortem at the Department of Veterinary Pathology arm of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. This investigation was carried out on 397 archival canine samples for dogs presented for necropsy at the Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Ibadan, during the periods of 2000 - 2012. The gross diagnosis was obtained from the postmortem records while the specific type of pneumonia was by histopathology of selected lungs tissues, using standard techniques. Descriptive statistics was employed to evaluate the effect of age, sex, breed and the type of pneumonia. Alsatian(29%) and Rottweiler(14.4%) breeds of dogs were the common breeds of dogs encountered at post-mortem, and the dogs above 3 year old (51.9%) were the most affected, with leptospirosis (38.5%) being the most prevalent disease diagnosed, followed by neoplasia (13.49%) while infectious canine hepatitis was the least prevalent (0.5%). The histopathological diagnosis revealed that the pneumonic patterns were that of suppurative bronchopneumonia (75%), fibrinous bronchopneumonia (10%) and interstitial pneumonia, (15%). The diseases associated with the different pneumonia seen during the histopathological examination were leptospirosis, canine distemper, and left sided heart failure. Findings has shown that pneumonia in dogs were commonly associated with leptospirosis. In the course of this study, the histopathological lesions and changes associated with the pneumonia seen in the leptospirosis cases include alveolar haemorrhages, edema, neutrophils and macrophages in the alveolar spaces and neutrophils in small pulmonary vessels. In lieu of this, pneumonia could be a major contributory factor to death associated with leptospirosis in the cases reviewed.Keywords: Archival necropcy samples, Dogs, Incidence, Leptospirosis, Pneumoni

In-ovo evaluation of the antiviral activity of methanolic root-bark extract of the African Baobab (Adansonia digitata Lin)

Application of ethnoveterinary medicine in the control of poultry diseases is being embraced in many parts of the world for more profitable production. This study investigated the antiviral property of the root-bark extract of the African Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata Lin) against Newcastle disease virus. One hundred and seventy five specific antibody negative embryonated chicken eggs and a field strain of Newcastle disease virus were used to test for the antiviral activity of the methanolic root bark extract of the tree. Following a 2-h exposure of the virus to eight graded concentrations of the extract, it was incubated at 37°C and observed 12-hourly for mortality. Dead embryos were spot tested for haemagglutinating activity. The 100EID50 concentration of the virus and the highest concentration of the extract were inoculated as positive and negative controls, respectively. All eggs inoculated with the virus alone as well as 5 and 2 mg/ml extract/virus suspensions, died by 72 h post inoculation, while no mortality was observed amongst those inoculated with 250 and 200 mg/ml virus/extract suspensions as well as those inoculated with the pure extract. Mortalities of 40, 40 and 20%, due to viral activity were recorded for 25, 50 and 100 mg/ml suspensions, respectively. This study showed that methanolic rootbark extract of A. digitata has antiviral activity against Newcastle disease virus in ovo, particularly when used at dose rates of 200 and 250 mg/ml.Key words: Ethnoveterinary, African Baobab, antiviral activity, Newcastle disease virus

The comparative susceptibility of commercial and Nigerian indigenous chicken ecotypes to Salmonella gallinarum infection

This study was to evaluate the possible genetic resistance of exotic and indigenous chicks to Salmonella gallinarum. A total of 72 nine weeks-old chicks were used for the study. The Fulani ecotype (Fulani smooth feathers - FSF), Yoruba ecotype (Yoruba smooth feathers - YSF), and the Exotic  breed (Nera Black) chicks were infected with a dose of S. gallinarum (8.3 x 106 CFU) and were observed for 16 days. Evaluation of resistance was  based on clinical signs, mortality, pathology, leukocyte count, bacterial  count from liver and spleen of infected chicks. The highest peak for clinical signs in S. gallinarum infected chicks coincides with highest mortalities  recorded on day 11-12 dpi and bacterial count of both liver and spleen on day 8. The lymphocytes count declined on day 8 for all the experimental chicks except for the exotic breed. There was no significant difference between the bacterial counts of the different groups on day 8. In S. gallinarum infected chicks, 94.4% of all the chicks showed clinical signs after infection, the exotic breed showed a prolonged clinical signs while the Yoruba ecotype showed the least. 87.5%, 80.0% and 37.5% mortality were recorded in the exotic breed, Fulani and Yoruba ecotypes respectively. The study showed that the exotic chicken (Nera Black) was more susceptible to Salmonella gallinarum infection. It also indicated that within the ecotypes in Nigeria, Fulani ecotype was more susceptible to Salmonella gallinarum infection than the Yoruba ecotype. The lower clinical signs and mortality observed in Yoruba ecotype indicated a resistance of the ecotype to S. gallinarum infection.Keywords: Ecotypes, Nigerian Indigenous chicken, Salmonella gallinarum infection

The Nasal Bacterial Flora Changes in Experimental Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus and its Co-Infection with Mannheimia Hemolytica in Goats.

The study into the nasal bacterial flora changes associated with common viral and bacterial complicated viral pneumonia in subsaharan goats and its implications in the treatment plans is scanty in literatures. This investigation was part of a larger study that involved fifty apparently healthy West Africa Dwarf goats (WAD) of six months of age that were divided into groups A, B and C of 15 goats each while 5 goats served as control. Group A goats were infected with 1ml of pure culture (1 X 109 CFU) of Mannheimia haemolytica (MH) A2, group B with 1ml of pure cultured 106.5 TCID50 Peste des petit Ruminants (PPR) virus grown in Baby hamster kidney cell lines and group C with 1 ml of PPRV and a week later 1ml of MH A2. Nasal swabs were collected from each goat weekly while the identification and bacterial count of the isolates were carried out using standard methods. Student t-test was used to test for significant differences. In group B, the colonies of Mannheimia hemolytica was significantly increased from the third week pi, while that of group C, increased significantly from the second week pi (