Abstract
Newcastle disease is one of the greatest constraints to the development of poultry production in Nigeria. In this study, the spatial distribution of Newcastle disease antibodies was determined using the Geographic Information System. A total of 400 serum samples were collected from chickens in districts around Kaduna Metropolis and screened for Newcastle disease virus antibodies using the haemagglutination inhibition test done according to the procedure of OIE (2002). The spatial distribution demonstrated that the highest antibody titre level for Newcastle disease was closely associated with communities that were at entry points (Zaria— Kaduna road; Nnamdi Azikiwe bypass road; Television garage; Abuja—Kaduna expressway and Kachia road) to the metropolis and houses that are closely situated near live bird markets signifying the importance of bird movements in the spread of the disease. About 31 % (124 of 400) of chickens had antibodies to Newcastle disease virus, with exotics breeds (32.0 %) with more Newcastle disease virus antibodies than local breeds (29.8 %). The Newcastle disease prevalence was 33.9 % (39 out of 115), 31.8 % (41 out of 129) and 28.2 % (44 out of 156) for Kaduna North, Kaduna South and Chikun Local Government Areas (LGA), respectively. A Newcastle disease prevalence of 29.8 % (54 out of 181) was recorded in the local chickens, while 32.0 % (70 out of 219) was obtained from the exotic chickens.