Assessment of antibody assay methods in determination of prevalence of infectious bursal disease among local chickens and guinea fowls in Kwara state, North Central Nigeria.

Aim: This study aimed to assess available assay methods for infectious bursal disease (IBD) diagnosis and seromonitoring in local birds. It also sought to know the prevalence of IBD antibodies among local chickens and guinea fowls in Kwara state, North Central Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: Sera were obtained from local chickens and guinea fowls and IBD virus (IBDV) antibodies were assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), indirect hemagglutination (IHA) test, and agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test.

Results: A total of 265 sera were obtained from local birds during dry and wet seasons. ELISA recorded the highest prevalence of 81.1% (215/265) while IHA and AGID detected IBDV antibodies in 183 (69.1%) and 122 (46%) birds, respectively. Significant differences were established for IBD-positive sera based on the assay method used, bird species, and seasons.

Conclusion: This study indicated that ELISA is the most sensitive and reliable assay method while AGID is the least. It also showed that there is a high prevalence of IBDV antibodies among local birds which were not vaccinated, and this implies a high IBDV activity among these bird species in the study area. This may have significant epidemiological implications on the spread of the virus to exotic bird reared in the rural areas on a commercial scale. Thus, this study suggests continuous surveillance, awareness campaign, and advocacy for vaccination of indigenous birds against IBD.