Isolation and molecular detection of Newcastle Virus in an outbreak of poultry disease in a private farm in Rano, Rano Local Government, Kano, Nigeria

Newcastle disease is a highly contagious disease among poultry birds and a major constraint in poultry production. Despite frequent vaccination, the virus keeps circulating among vaccinated and unvaccinated birds. Our study determined the prevalence of Newcastle Disease Virus in poultry Chicken and by molecular confirmation of the isolates obtained from poultry farms in Rano, Rano Local Government Area, Kano state. In this study, Cloacal samples were collected from 120 diseased poultry chickens for isolation of NDV in 9-13-day old specific pathogen free fertile hens’ eggs. Positive NDV was further detected in positive samples with molecular techniques using F-gene. The virus was isolated from some samples with the prevalence rate of 73.33%. This study revealed circulation of NDV in poultry birds in Kano. This highlights the need for stringent NDV control programs to reduce or eliminate the circulation of the virus in this province.