Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), subtype H5N1, was first officially reported in Indonesia in 2004. Since then the disease has spread and is now endemic in large parts of the country. This study investigated the statistical relationship between a set of risk factors and the presence or absence of HPAI in Indonesia during 2006 and 2007. HPAI was evaluated through participatory disease su...

The rapid outbreak of the highly pathogenic A/H5N1 avian influenza virus among domestic birds and its transmission to humans have induced world-wide fears of a new influenza pandemic. If a human-trophic strain of A/H5N1 is replicated in domestic animals, it might have high transmissivity and pathogenicity to humans. If the misassembling of both avian and swine influenza viruses occur in the sam...

The survey was conducted to examine poultry production and determine causes of poultry losses in a communal area of Zimbabwe. Qualitative data were obtained using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques, while quantitative data were captured through a structured questionnaire administered to 416 households. The majority (68%) of the farmers in the study kept indigenous chickens and the r...

A framework for the impact assessment of disease control strategies for Newcastle disease (ND) is discussed. This includes linking epidemiological and economic data to predict the relative impact of different control interventions at different levels from farm to region. Epidemiological transmission models assume that village poultry are the reservoir of ND virus for other sectors. Simple model...

Domestic chickens have long been important to human societies for food, religion, entertainment, and decorative uses, yet the origins and phylogeography of chickens through Eurasia remain uncertain. Here, we assessed their origins and phylogeographic history by analyzing the mitochondrial DNA hypervariable segment I (HVS-I) for 834 domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) across Eurasia as ...

The objective of this study was to investigate the population structure of village chickens found in the five agro-ecological zones of Zimbabwe. Twenty-nine microsatellites were genotyped for chickens randomly selected from 13 populations, including the five eco-zones of Zimbabwe (n = 238), Malawi (n = 60), Sudan (n = 48) and six purebred lines (n = 180). A total of 280 alleles were observed in...

Assessment of ventricular morphology using echocardiography in Ornate tinamous (Nothoprocta ornata) and domestic chickens (Gallus domesticus)

Two velogenic Newcastle disease viruses (NDV) obtained from outbreaks in domestic ducks in China were characterized in this study. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that both strains clustered with the class II viruses, with one phylogenetically close to the genotype VII NDVs and the other closer to genotype IX. The deduced amino acid sequence of the cleavage site of the fusion (F) protein confirm...

A serological survey on the prevalence of antibodies to Newcastle disease virus was carried out in 2 communes of Phu Vang District, Thua Thien Hue Province, Central Vietnam. Villagers in the district keep chickens under either scavenging or enclosed backyard systems. Villages in each commune and households in each village were selected randomly. Approximately 30% of household flocks in each vil...

Background: Global epizootic distribution of HPAI H5N8 (Clade 2.3.4.4) in poultry and wild birds was demonstrated after 2010. HPAI virus is a major concern not only in birds and poultry industry but also in global human health. Wild migratory birds and their linked to backyard birds are playing a critical role in spreading HPAI and the creation of genetic reassortment. Methods: In this study i...