The pathology of infectious bursal disease in indigenous Nigerian chickens

Abstract

An outbreak of infectious bursal disease (IBD) in indigenous Nigerian chickens occured in a flock of 6-wekk-old unsexed birds. The chickens were depressed and faeces wa greenish and watery. At necropsy bursae were either swollen or atrophie. Hiopathological sections of the bursa of Fabricius, spleen, thymus and caecal tonsil were characterized by lymphocytic depletion and presence of remnants of necrotic Ivmohocvtes. Susuensions of the bursa of dead chickens were positive for ÎBD ;irus aniigen in agar gel diffusion precipitation test (AGDT). Sera obtained from survivors 14 days after the onset of clinical signs were also positive for IBD virus precipitins in AGDT. These observations appear to be the first description of IBD in local Nigerian chickens and confirm that they are susceptible to clinical IBD.