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Journal of the South African Veterinary Association
On-line version ISSN 2224-9435
Print version ISSN 1019-9128
Abstract
SWAI, E S; KESSY, M J; SANKA, P N and MTUI, P F. A serological survey for infectious bursal disease virus antibodies in free-range village chickens in northern Tanzania. J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc. [online]. 2011, vol.82, n.1, pp.32-35. ISSN 2224-9435.
A study of infectious bursal disease (IBD) or 'Gumboro disease' seroprevalence rates in healthy, non-vaccinated indigenous scavenging chickens in northern Tanzania was conducted in November and December 2009 on 362 chickens raised in a traditional management system. Individual bird and flock-level information was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, and serum samples were screened for IBD virus (IBDV) antibodies using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The study revealed high rates of IBDV antibodies, yielding an overall seropositive rate of 58.8 % and with at least one positive bird detected in 82.8 % (74/90) of flocks. Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that seropositivity to IBDV varied significantly (χ2= 16.1, P < 0.001) between the study sites. The flock seroprevalence was found to vary from 37.5 % to 91 % between districts and from 75 % to 90 % between regions. The results of this study showed that IBD is an endemic and widely distributed disease in northern Tanzania.
Keywords : free-range chickens; infectious bursal disease; prevalence; risk factors; Tanzania.