title: A serological survey for infectious bursal disease virus antibodies in free-range village chickens in northern Tanzania.
abstract: A study of infectious bursal disease (IBD) or 'Gumboro disease' seroprevalence rates in healthy, non-vaccinated indigenous scavenging chickens in northern Tanzania was conducted in November and December 2009 on 362 chickens raised in a traditional management system. Individual bird and flock-level information was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, and serum samples were screened for IBD virus (IBDV) antibodies using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The study revealed high rates of IBDV antibodies, yielding an overall seropositive rate of 58.8 % and with at least one positive bird detected in 82.8 % (74/90) of flocks. Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that seropositivity to IBDV varied significantly (chi2 = 16.1, P < 0.001) between the study sites. The flock seroprevalence was found to vary from 37.5 % to 91 % between districts and from 75 % to 90 % between regions. The results of this study showed that IBD is an endemic and widely distributed disease in northern Tanzania.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Investigation Centre, PO Box 1068, Arusha, Tanzania.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Swai
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kessy
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Sanka
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Mtui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018175:Birnaviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002645:Chickens; D005260:Female; D007243:Infectious bursal disease virus / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology