Adoption and failure rates of vaccinations for disease prevention in chicken farms in Jos, Nigeria.

Vaccinations against diseases to prevent disease outbreaks are strategic to disease prevention, but vaccination failures may constitute a challenge in practice. This study was aimed at assessing the adoption and failure rates of vaccinations in 80 chicken farms in Jos, Nigeria. Data were obtained through a structured questionnaire validated by interviews and checking of farm and veterinary records. Vaccination score (0-1) from the vaccination checklist (5 for broilers and 12 for layers) and vaccination procedure score (0-1), based on scored adopted procedures, were calculated for each farm. Vaccine effectiveness was calculated for each vaccine using the odds ratio from the association of frequencies of disease outbreaks in vaccinated and unvaccinated flocks. Farmers used more of imported than local vaccines. Vaccination procedure and vaccination scores did not influence frequencies of disease outbreaks, but vaccination scores tended to non-robustly correlate (r = - 0.89, p > 0.05) with rates of disease outbreak. Vaccination rates were highest against Newcastle disease and infectious bursal disease, and their vaccinations also had the highest effectiveness. There was an association (p = 0.009) between composite vaccination rates and disease outbreaks with 2.1 odds of outbreaks in vaccinated than unvaccinated flocks. Vaccination failures occurred in the use of 11 out of 12 vaccines and the highest failure rate (47.9%) was in vaccination against coccidiosis. Therefore, vaccination failure is a critical factor in poultry vaccination practice within the locality. The adoption of poultry vaccinations needs to be strategised in the context of a national poultry vaccination policy in order to promote effective poultry disease prevention and control.

Appraisal of Chicken Production with Associated Biosecurity Practices in Commercial Poultry Farms Located in Jos, Nigeria.

A questionnaire-based study of chicken production system with on-farm biosecurity practices was carried out in commercial poultry farms located in Jos, Nigeria. Commercial and semicommercial farms had 75.3% and 24.5% of 95,393 birds on 80 farms, respectively. Farms using deep litter and battery cage systems were 69 (86.3%) and 10 (12.5%), respectively. In our biosecurity scoring system, a correct practice of each indicator of an event scored 1.00 and biosecurity score (BS) of each farm was the average of the scores of biosecurity indicators for the farm, giving BS of zero and 1.00 as absence of biosecurity and optimal biosecurity, respectively. Semicommercial farms had higher BS than commercial farms. The flock size did not significantly (p > 0.05) affect the mean BS. Disease outbreaks correlated (r = -0.97) with BS, showing a tendency of reduction of disease outbreaks with increasing BS. Outbreaks were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with deep litter system. In conclusion, the chicken production system requires increased drive for excellent biosecurity practices and weak points in the biosecurity could be ameliorated by extension of information to farmers in order to support expansion of chicken production with robust biosecurity measures that drastically reduce risk of disease outbreak.

Epidemiological study of bovine brucellosis in three senatorial zones of Bauchi State, Nigeria.

AIM: To determine the seroepidemiological patterns of bovine brucellosis in three senatorial zones of Bauchi State, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood samples were aseptically collected from the anterior jugular vein of 336 slaughtered cattle, between September 2013 and March 2014 in three senatorial zones of Bauchi State, Nigeria. The sera obtained were screened for brucellosis using rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) and serum agglutination test (SAT) in parallel. The data generated was subjected to Chi-square and Fishers exact test analysis to establish whether there is a relationship between the breeds, sex, and location of the animals sampled. RESULTS: Of the 336 cattle screened, 18 (5.4%) and 13 (3.9%) were positive by RBPT and SAT, respectively. There was no statistically significant association (p>0.05) between the sex, age, and location of cattle with seropositivity of brucellosis in the state. It was concluded that brucellosis is prevalent in Bauchi State. Further study is recommended in other abattoirs and herds of cattle in Bauchi State for confirmation of the status of the disease among cattle slaughtered in the state. CONCLUSION: A high seroprevalence of brucellosis among the cattle in Bauchi state indicates that the disease is endemic and cattle are one of the animals that perpetuate and sustain the disease.