Newcastle disease

Aetiology Epidemiology Diagnosis Prevention and control References

AETIOLOGY

Classification of the causative agent

Virus family Paramyxoviridae, genus Rubulavirus

Temperature: Inactivated by 56°C/3 hours, 60°C/30 min

pH: Inactivated by acid pH
Chemicals: Ether sensitive
Disinfectants: Inactivated by formalin and phenol
Survival: Survives for long periods at ambient temperature, especially in faeces

EPIDEMIOLOGY

Hosts

• Many species of birds, both domestic and wild

• The mortality and morbidity rates vary among species, and with the strain of virus
• Chickens are the most susceptible poultry, ducks and geese are the least susceptible
poultry
• A carrier state may exist in psittacine and some other wild birds

Transmission

• Direct contact with secretions, especially faeces, from infected birds

• Contaminated feed, water, implements, premises, human clothing, etc.

Sources of virus

• Respiratory discharges, faeces

• All parts of the carcass
• Virus is shed during the incubation period and for a limited period during convalescence
• Some psittacine birds have been demonstrated to shed ND virus intermittently for over 1
year

Occurrence

Newcastle disease is endemic in many countries of the world. Some European countries have been free of the
disease for years

For detailed information on occurrence, see recent issues of World Animal Health and the OIE Bulletin

DIAGNOSIS
Incubation period is 4-6 days

Clinical diagnosis

• Respiratory and/or nervous signs:

o gasping and coughing
o drooping wings, dragging legs, twisting of the head and neck, circling,
depression, inappetence, complete paralysis
• Partial or complete cessation of egg production
• Eggs are misshapen, rough-shelled, thin-shelled and contain watery albumen
• Greenish watery diarrhoea
• Swelling of the tissues around the eyes and in the neck
• Morbidity and mortality depend on virulence of the virus strain, degree of vaccinal
immunity, environmental conditions, and condition of the flock

Lesions

• There are no pathognomonic gross lesions

• Several birds have to be examined to make a tentative diagnosis
• Final diagnosis must await virus isolation and identification
• Lesions that may be found are:
o oedema of the interstitial or peritracheal tissue of the neck, especially near the
thoracic inlet
o congestion and sometimes haemorrhage on tracheal mucosa
o petechiae and small ecchymoses on the mucosa of the proventriculus,
concentrated around the orifices of the mucous glands
o oedema, haemorrhages, necrosis or ulcerations of lymphoid tissue in the
intestinal wall mucosa
o oedema, haemorrhages or degeneration of ovaries

Differential diagnosis

• Fowl cholera
• Avian influenza
• Laryngotracheitis
• Fowl pox (diphtheritic form)
• Psittacosis (chlamydiosis) (psittacine birds)
• Mycoplasmosis
• Infectious bronchitis
• Pacheco's parrot disease (psittacine birds)
• Also management errors such as deprivation of water, air, feed

Laboratory diagnosis

Procedures

Identification of the agent

• Inoculation of 9-11-day-old embryonated chicken eggs followed by:

o examination of haemagglutination activity
o inhibition of haemagglutination by ND virus-specific antiserum

Pathogenicity assessment
 • Plaque test in chicken embryo fibroblast cultures
• Mean death time of embryonated chicken eggs
• Intracerebral pathogenicity index in 1-day-old chickens
• Intravenous pathogenicity index (IVPI) in 6-week-old chickens

Serological tests

• Haemagglutination inhibition test

• ELISA

Samples

Identification of the agent

• Tracheal and cloacal swabs (or faeces) from live birds or from pools of organs and faeces
from dead birds

Serological tests

• Clotted blood samples or serum

PREVENTION AND CONTROL

No treatment

Sanitary prophylaxis

• Strict isolation of outbreaks

• Destruction of all infected and exposed birds
• Thorough cleaning and disinfection of premises
• Proper carcass disposal
• Pest control in flocks
• Depopulation followed by 21 days before restocking
• Avoidance of contact with birds of unknown health status
• Control of human traffic.
• One age group per farm ('all in-all out') breeding is recommended

Medical prophylaxis

• Vaccination with live and/or oil emulsion vaccines can markedly reduce the losses in
poultry flocks
• Live B1 and La Sota strains are administrated in drinking water or as a coarse spray.
Sometimes administered intranasally or intraocularly. Healthy chickens may be vaccinated as early
as day 1-4 of life, but delaying vaccination until the second or third week increases its efficiency
• Some other infections (e.g. Mycoplasma) may aggravate the vaccine reaction. Killed virus
vaccine should then be used

REFERENCES AND OTHER INFORMATION

• Reference experts and laboratories

• Classified as an OIE List A disease (A160)
 • Chapter 2.1.15. in the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals.
• Terrestrial Animal Health Code
o Other references - see the Index
• World Animal Health.
• Current Animal Health Status (Disease Information)

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Haemagglutination Inhibition (HI)

Mechanism: The antigen in HI tests is simply a solution of the antigenic particles (usually a
virus) which is capable of inducing the reaction of haemagglutination when mixed with a
suspension of red blood cells. This agglutination is not an antigen/antibody reaction but, rather is
the attachment of viral particles by their receptor sites to more than 1 cell. As more and more
cells become attached in this manner agglutination becomes visible. The presence and
concentration of antibody is measured by its ability to inhibit the agglutination at various
dilutions (Figure 2.6).

Reagents: The antigen is usually prepared by growing a naturally haemagglutinating virus

(NDV and Avian Influenza viruses) in chick embryo and collecting allantoic fluid (Beard et
al.,1975). Occasionally it may be possible to use re-constituted vaccine as a haemagglutinating
antigen. If virological examinations are also carried out in the same laboratory or if the viruses
used in antigen production are not vaccinal then it would be important to inactivate the antigen
by chemical treatment (though this will reduce the titre of the antigen). Some viruses (e.g.
Infectious Bronchitis) though not naturally haemagglutinating can be made to haemagglutinate
by treatment with an enzyme treatment. Preparation of such antigens is more complicated since it
will normally be required to concentrate virus, usually by ultra-centrifugation. The only other
reagent required for carrying out this test is a suspension of red blood cells. Most HI tests carried
out in routine poultry serology use chicken erythrocytes. It is usually recommended that the
source of the erythrocytes be un-vaccinated chickens. In the UK a license is required under the
Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 to collect blood as source of erythrocytes. It is this
authors experience that age and vaccination history of the donor has no effect on the results
(McMullin, 1979). It is important to carry out at least three wash cycles to ensure that the final
suspension is free of antibody and other serum proteins. A fourth cycle is advisable if the HI
titres in the source birds are 1:128 or higher. After washing the red cells are re-suspended in PBS
at a standard concentration. The packed red cells should be re-suspended at least at 0.75%, since
lower erythrocyte concentrations tend to be associated with more variable HA values for the
antigen and hence affect HI results (McMullin, 1979)

Methods:It is possible to carry out rapid haemagglutination tests and haemagglutination-

inhibition tests on a plate, just as for the bacterial agglutination tests described above. However
HA and HI are generally only used in this way to confirm the presence and identity of a
haemagglutinating antigen. Identification and quantification of HI antibody, on the other hand, is
nearly always carried out by the equivalent of the slow agglutination test, originally in tubes,
now almost always in micro-titre plates. Detailed descriptions of these methods may be found in
the literature (Allen and Gough, 1974).
Figure 2.6. Haemagglutination-inhibition tests in a micro-titre plate. Wells with a non-
agglutinated button of red cells are read as HI positive.

Assays: The commonly-used HI tests in chickens are for Newcastle disease (Paramyxovirus-1),
Infectious bronchitis (Coronavirus), and EDS-76 (adeno-virus). HI tests may also be carried out
for Avian Influenza. However, since there is poor cross-reactivity between the different
haemagglutinin groups, AGP is favoured for routine screening.Various serotypes of IBV have
been used in HI tests as an aid in suggesting the likely infecting strain. This use is complicated
by a high degree of cross-reactivity.\par Comments: HI tests require inexpensive reagents though
they are labour-intensive. The fact that a series of dilutions are separately tested means that the
results are highly reproducible.