HighlightsWe examine chicken health and production constraints with backyard and semi-intensive producers in Ethiopia.Participants identified 9 categories of constraints: the most important overall were disease and access to feed.Despite generally detailed knowledge of disease risk factors, biosecurity measures were lacking or ineffective.Producers reported difficulty accessing veterinary services, despite their proximity to such expertise.Although many of these constraints may be viewed as technical issues to be overcome, our findings highlight underlying social factors that must also be addressed.

A survey was conducted into respiratory infectious diseases of poultry on a chicken breeder farm run by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), located in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. Oropharyngeal swabs were collected from 117 randomly selected birds, and blood was taken from a subset of 73 of these birds. A combination of serological and molecular methods was used for detection of pathogens. For the first time in Ethiopia, we report the detection of variant infectious bronchitis virus (793B genotype), avian metapneumovirus subtype B and Mycoplasma synoviae in poultry. Mycoplasma gallisepticum was also found to be present; however, infectious laryngotracheitis virus was not detected by PCR. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was not detected by PCR, but variable levels of anti-NDV HI antibody titres shows possible exposure to virulent strains or poor vaccine take, or both. For the burgeoning-intensive industry in Ethiopia, this study highlights several circulating infectious respiratory pathogens that can impact on poultry welfare and productivity.

A moderate to high seroprevalence of exposure to Newcastle disease (NDV), avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) has recently been reported in Ethiopia, but it is unclear to what extent these contribute to clinical cases of respiratory disease. This study investigated the presence of these pathogens in chickens exhibiting respiratory disease in two live markets in Addis Ababa. Markets were visited weekly for three months, and 18 chickens displaying respiratory clinical signs were acquired. Swab samples were taken from the choana, trachea, air sac and larynx for bacteriology and PCR tests targeting these five pathogens. PCR-positive samples were sequenced. All 18 chickens were PCR-positive for aMPV, 50% for each of Mg and NDV, 39% for IBV and 11% for ILTV. Infections with >3 pathogens were detected in 17 of 18 chickens. Potentially pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Streptococcus spp. and Staphylococcus were found in 16 to 44% of chickens. IBV-positive samples were of the 793B genotype. The results associate the presence of these organisms with clinical respiratory disease and are consistent with recent serological investigations, indicating a high level of exposure to multiple respiratory pathogens.

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