Abstract

Aim: Newcastle disease (VD) has been successfully controlled by vaccination of commercial poultry in Libya. However, there was a lack of information about the situation of ND in backyard chickens. Therefore this study determined the prevalence of ND in backyard chickens in different locations of Tripoli.
Materials and Methods: A total number of 280 cloacal swabs (190 in summer and 90 in winter) and 412 sera were collected from non-vaccinated backyard chicken flocks in different geographical locations within the area of Tripoli namely Qasr Ben Ghashier, Al-Sawani, Souq Al-Gomaa, Tajourah, Ein Zara, and Janzour. Cloacal swabs and sera were tested by real time PCR and ELISA, respectively.
Results: The prevalence of NDV infection in backyard chickens in different locations of Tripoli during summer and winter was 45% using rRT-PCR. Except in Qasr Ben Ghashier, the prevalence in summer season was significantly higher than in winter (X2=46.13, P0.00001). ELISA test revealed 218 positive out of 412 tested samples with total prevalence of 53% across the city of Tripoli in all regions. Obviously, Qasr Ben Ghashier had significantly (X2=74.09, P0.00001) the highest prevalence (82%) of NDV specific antibodies followed by Tajourah (68%).
Conclusion: This study demonstrated the situation of ND in backyard chicken highlighting the necessity of a comprehensive vaccination plan for backyard chickens.

Key words: Backyard chickens, ELISA, Newcastle disease, Prevalence, Real time PCR