Isolation of newcastle disease virus from commercial broilers in district Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The present study was carried out to isolate Newcastle disease virus in commercial broilers in district Abbottabad, KPK, Pakistan from January to June 2023. A total 60 broilers were swab sampled (cloacal and tracheal swabs) i.e. 120 swab samples were collected. The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction procedure was done for isolation of Newcastle disease virus in National Reference Laboratory for Poultry Disease, Islamabad. Results revealed that out of total samples, only 5 tested positive for the Newcastle disease virus, indicating a prevalence percentage of 8.33%. Among the different areas surveyed, Qalandar Abad exhibited the highest occurrence of the Newcastle disease virus, with a prevalence rate of 20%. These findings highlight the geographical disparity in Newcastle disease virus prevalence and imply potential variations in risk factors or biosecurity measures among different regions within the district.