Antibody levels against Newcastle Disease Virus in chickens in Rajshahi and surrounding districts of Bangladesh

A serological survey on the prevalence of antibodies to Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was carried out in broiler and layer chickens in Rajshahi and surrounding districts of Bangladesh. A total of 960 sera samples were collected from broiler (102) and layer (90) farms during the period from January to December 2008. Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test was performed using NDV antigen to determine antibodies against NDV. The overall seroprevalence of antibodies to NDV in broiler and layer chickens were 78.04% (510 samples) and 96.67% (450 samples), respectively. Antibody levels against NDV were recorded in different age groups for both broiler and layer chickens. Seroprevalence of antibodies to NDV was found significantly (p<0.05) higher in young (broiler 23.88%, layer 11.33%) than in adults (broiler 18.38%, layer 9.22%). Again these levels were recorded in different seasons of the year, with significantly (p<0.05) higher during summer in comparison to other seasons. The level of protection of broilers was found unsatisfactory which must be improved by hyper-immunizing the hens before laying and adopting good managemental practices, whereas, the level of protection in layers was found satisfactory.