Journal of
Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health

  • Abbreviation: J. Vet. Med. Anim. Health
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2529
  • DOI: 10.5897/JVMAH
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 419

Full Length Research Paper

Antibody response, viral load, viral clearance and growth rate in Tanzanian free-range local chickens infected with lentogenic Newcastle disease virus

James Richard Mushi
  • James Richard Mushi
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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Gaspar Honorati Chiwanga
  • Gaspar Honorati Chiwanga
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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Esther Lemburis Mollel
  • Esther Lemburis Mollel
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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Muhammed Walugembe
  • Muhammed Walugembe
  • Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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Robert Arsen Max
  • Robert Arsen Max
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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Peter Makenga Msoffe
  • Peter Makenga Msoffe
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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Rodrigo Gallardo
  • Rodrigo Gallardo
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, 95616, USA.
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Terra Kelly
  • Terra Kelly
  • School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, 95616, USA.
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Susan Lamont
  • Susan Lamont
  • Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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Jack Dekkers
  • Jack Dekkers
  • Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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Huaijun Zhou
  • Huaijun Zhou
  • Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, 95616, USA.
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Amandus Muhairwa
  • Amandus Muhairwa
  • Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
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  •  Received: 08 January 2021
  •  Accepted: 15 April 2021
  •  Published: 31 May 2021

Abstract

This study is aimed at evaluating antibody responses, viral loads, viral clearance and growth rate of Tanzanian free-range local chicken (FRLC) challenged with LaSota strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) as indicator traits for selection of chickens for breeding with enhanced resistance to the disease and economic value. Three popular free-range local chicken ecotypes: Kuchi, Ching’wekwe and Morogoro-medium from three ecological zones of Tanzania were used for the experiments. Progenies from the breeder chickens were challenged with 107 titer of 50% egg infectious dose (EID50) of the virus at 28 days of age. The viral loads and viral clearance rates evaluated by qRT-PCR from tear samples collected at 2- and 6-days post infection (dpi) showed that Kuchi could clear NDV better than Morogoro-medium and Ching’wekwe. Anti-NDV antibody levels determined from blood samples collected at 10 dpi using ELISA showed that Kuchi ecotype expressed higher mean anti-NDV antibodies compared to Morogoro-medium and Ching’wekwe. Growth rates determined from body weights collected for 38 days from day of hatch (D0) to 10 dpi showed higher growth rate for Kuchi than Morogoro-medium and Ching’wekwe chickens. Kuchi chickens were potentially more resistant to ND compared to Morogoro-medium and Ching’wekwe.

Key words: Free-range local chickens, Newcastle disease, immune response, innate resistance.

Copyright © 2025 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.

This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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