Cross sectional study and isolation of M. gallisepticum in commercial and backyard chickens in East Shewa, Ethiopia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2007-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Cross sectional study and isolation of M. gallisepticum was conducted from November 2006 to
April 2007 in commercial and backyard chickens in East Shewa, Ethiopia. A total of 514 sera
were collected for sero-prevalence study, of which 187 were from commercial chickens and 327
from backyard chickens. All sera were tested using an indirect ELISA to detect antibodies to M.
gallisepticum infection. This preliminary study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of
M. gallisepticum infection, to assess epidemiological risk factors and to isolate M. gallisepticum.
The overall sero-prevalence of M. gallisepticum infection was 49.4% (254/514). Out of this,
64.5% (211/327) in backyard chickens and 23% (43/187) in commercial chickens and this was
statistically significant difference (p<0.05). Variation in prevalence was observed among
commercial farms being high in farm-B (46.8%) and low in farm-C (4.25%) and this was
statistically significant (p<0.05). Significant difference (p<0.05) in prevalence was also observed
among five Woredas selected for sampling backyard chickens being high in Lume (72.7%) and
low in Ada'a (47.5%). Age was significantly associated (p<0.05) with M. gallisepticum infection.
Increasing prevalence with an increasing age was recorded. In layer flocks, statistically
significant (p<0.05) difference in prevalence was observed being 0% in chicks at 1 to 8 weeks
and 67.3% in layers at 18 to 76 weeks. However, no significant difference (p>0.05) was seen
between broiler growers at 3 to 6 weeks and finishers at 6 to 10 weeks with prevalence of 6.6%
and 9.5%, respectively. It was also revealed that significant difference (p<0.05) in prevalence
was seen between layers (41.7%) and broilers (7.8%). Significant association (p<0.05) was also
observed between sex and MG infection in commercial chickens with higher prevalence in
females (32.4%) than males (10.1%) but no significant (p>0.05) sex difference in prevalence
among backyard chickens was observed. Post mortem examination was conducted and gross post
mortem lesions on lung, trachea, and air sacs were collected and processed for isolation. M.
gallisepticum was isolated from clinically sick commercial chickens and apparently healthy
backyard chickens. The current study revealed M. gallisepticum infection is prevalent in the study
area. It was also concluded that further study should be conducted to assess economic impact of
the disease in the area and to investigate the status of the disease in other areas of the country.
Description
Keywords
Sero-prevalence, M. gallisepticum, indirect ELISA, post mortem