Newcastle disease or Paramyxovirus1 is a viral disease, it affects the poultry birds, e.g Turkey, chicken, duck etc. This disease is however controlled at the tender age of the bird with the Newcastle disease vaccine but at times the outbreak does occur.
There are two types of Newcastle Disease namely;
- Lentogenic Newcastle Disease: This type of Newcastle has no clinical sign instead there is sudden death of birds, leading to high rate of mortality.
- Chronic Newcastle Disease: This type of disease does show clinical signs before its sudden outbreak.
Signs of Newcastle disease.
On pullets
- · The bird would be off-feed, that is lack of appetite.
- · The bird loses weight.
- The birds drone together when on deep litter system
- · The animal makes screeching sound.
- The bird has diarrhea.
- Drooping wings
- Paralysis leading death
On layers
- · The bird would be off-feed, that is lack of appetite.
- · The animal makes screeching sound.
- · The bird produces peewee eggs.
- · The bird produces shell-less eggs.
- · When it becomes severe and chronic, the birds turn their head and drop greenish feaces.
- Swelling of the tissues of the head.
- · Above all, there is drastic drop in production.
Treatment
Many farmers often make a big mistake in the process of treating this disease, they apply the Newcastle Disease vaccine to treat this disease, this is very wrong! VACCINES ARE NOT MEANT FOR TREATMENT OF ANY DISEASE, VACCINES ARE MEANT FOR PREVENTION OF THE DISEASE.
To treat Newcastle Disease, Christmas Melon called Tangiri in Yoruba should be sliced into piece and poured into the drinking water of the birds with the addition of Antibiotics e.g Neocyrel plus , in the water. When this is used, the mortality drops.
Newcastle Disease Vaccine should now be reapplied when the mortality drops.
