Epidemiology of Newcastle disease in Africa with emphasis on Côte d'Ivoire: A review.

For decades, Newcastle disease (ND) has long been recognized as a frontline viral disease that constrains poultry production throughout Africa. The need to update on the epidemiology of the disease is rife, due to the increasing importance of poultry farming. In addition, poultry farming serves as the top animal food source globally. However, in Africa, the greater population of poultry is reared under traditional and conventional husbandry methods. This hugely impedes the ability of management practices to be correctly embraced in limiting or excluding viral pathogens in the poultry production chain. We conducted this review to consolidate recently published studies in the field and provide an overview of the disease. We reviewed original studies conducted on ND, the current taxonomic classification of the virus, clinical signs of the disease, and laboratory diagnostic methods available for virus detection and typing. This review additionally examined the control methods currently used, including available or circulating vaccines, vaccinations, recent vaccine findings, and the main variants of the virus present in West Africa. More specifically, we present a review of the current status and available information on the disease in Côte d'Ivoire. The lack of up-to-date and relevant information on the current prevalence, socio-economic impact, and ethnoveterinary medicine used against ND is probably the main limitation for appropriate and effective decision-making for better control of this disease in Côte d'Ivoire.

Reduction of the Adverse Impacts of Fungal Mycotoxin on Proximate Composition of Feed and Growth Performance in Broilers by Combined Adsorbents.

Synergistic interaction of adsorbents in reducing the adverse impacts of mycotoxin on performance and proximate composition of broiler feeds was investigated. Fungal growth was induced by sprinkling water on the feed. S. cerevisiae + bentonite, kaolin + bentonite or S. cerevisiea + kaolin adsorbent combinations (1.5 g/kg feed) were added and the feeds were stored in black polythene bags. An untreated group was kept as a positive control while fresh uncontaminated feed was used as a negative control. Mycotoxins were extracted from the feeds and quantified using reverse phase HPLC. Proximate composition, nutrient digestibility of the feeds, feed intake and weight gain of the broilers were measured. Deoxynivalenol (DON) concentration in the contaminated/untreated feed was 347 µg/kg while aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was 34 µg/kg. Addition of bentonite and kaolin in the contaminated feed reduced AFB1 and DON to significantly lower levels. Feed intake and weight gain were low in the broilers fed the contaminated feed. The carbohydrate level was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced from 62.31 to 40.10%, crude protein digestibility dropped from 80.67 to 49.03% in the fresh feed and contaminated feed respectively. Addition of the adsorbents (S. cerevisiae and bentonite) significantly (p < 0.05) improved these parameters.