Prevalence of Newcastle Disease in Gombe, Northeastern Nigeria: A Ten-Year Retrospective Study (2004 – 2013)

Aim: A ten – year retrospective study was conducted with the aim to determine the prevalence of Newcastle Disease (ND) in relation to other poultry diseases diagnosed in the State area veterinary clinics.
Study Design: Retrospective study.
Place and Duration of the Study: This study was conducted in Gombe State, Northeastern Nigeria. Case files from Tashan Dukku and Pantami area veterinary clinics in Gombe metropolis were reviewed for the study. File of cases of poultry diseases reported between January 2004 and December 2013 were studied.
Methodology: Information on ND in poultry only was extracted from the clinical records and the non – ND cases were considered together as a group. A case of ND was defined as a farm that reported an outbreak of diseases diagnosed as ND based on history, clinical signs and post – mortem findings in the study area.
Results: Of 9970 cases of poultry diseases studied, 5531 (55.50%) were cases of ND (P >0.05). The Year Specific Rate (YSR) ranged from 51.5% (OR = 1.0) in 2005 to 63.3% (OR = 1.63; 95%CI: 0.81 – 2.45) in 2006 (P>0.05). The Monthly Specific Rates (MSR) of ND was 66.5% (OR = 5.94; 95%CI: 4.57 – 7.31) in October, 64.4% (5.42; 4.29 – 6.55) in December, 64.2% (5.36; 4.17 – 6.55) in January, 61.3% (4.74; 3.61 – 5.87) in November, 27.0% (1.10; 0.15 – 2.05) in June and 25.1% in July. ND was 3.4 times more likely to occur during the Pre-dry season (October – December) and 3.0 times more likely to occur during the Dry season (January - March) as compared with the other seasons of the year.
Conclusion: The study revealed that ND is still endemic in Gombe State – Nigeria, with peak outbreaks during dry and cold seasons. Purchasing day old chicks from farms known to give booster vaccinations to their parent stock hens, vaccinating chicks with vaccines that are immunogenic, use of thermo-stable vaccines for routine vaccinations of chicks and maintenance of strict bio-security measures are recommended to reduce the prevalence of the disease in the study area.