Serological Survey of Newcastle Disease in Domestic Chickens in Sulaimani Province

Newcastle disease is one of the serious diseases of poultry. It causes a great loss in poultry industry and domestic village chickens. Since domestic chickens in villages are free ranging for food, the chance of contact with wild birds which may act as a reservoir for many viral diseases is high. The ELISA and Haemagglutination Inhibition (HI) test were used for the detection of antibodies against Newcastle disease virus in 500 serum samples collected from chickens with no history of vaccination from five regions in Sulaimani province during September and October 2006. Forty six percent of sera were positive by ELISA and 34.4% by HI test. Chi-square and t-tests were used for statistical analysis. A good correlation was observed between ELISA and HI titers (Correlation Coefficient=0.705205, T=3.80732) and there was a statistically significant differences between ELISA and HI test at 95% confidence level (P<0.05). It was found that 46% of the domestic village chickens have protective antibody and 53.9% of chickens are susceptible to Newcastle disease virus infection.