OUTBREAK OF NEWCASTLE DISEASE IN BACKYARD POULTRY FARMS IN PEMAGATSHEL DISTRICT, EASTERN BHUTAN

CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Abstract

New castle Disease (ND) is very important diseases of poultry and wild birds. Using a case control study design, we identified farm level risk factors for ND outbreaks in Pemagatshel district, Eastern Bhutan. Thirty households that experienced an ND outbreak in 2016 were identified as case whilst those nearest households from same village that had not reported ND outbreaks in the same year were selected as controls. The data were collected using structured questionnaires, and univariable and multivariable logistic regression model were built to identify risk factors related to ND outbreaks. The odd of NCD occurrences in the farms that mixed with the wild birds was 13.08 times (95% confidence interval: 2.96-57.78) higher than those farms that were not mixed with the wild birds. Significant higher odds (adjusted odd ratio: 10.66; 95%CI: 2.3-49.5) of the ND outbreaks were reported in the farms that were having larger flock size (>10) comparing to smaller farm (≤10 birds). Similarly, those farms that were located near the roads were 3.85 times (95% CI: 0.95-15.63) more likely to report ND outbreaks than those farms that were located far from the road. However, regular cleaning of the poultry shed were found to be protective factors with those farms that practiced regular cleaning likely to encountered 0.16 times (0.04-0.66) less outbreaks comparing to those farms that don’t practice regular cleaning. Therefore, improving farm biosecurity and management practices with location of farms away from the road networks had potential to reduce the incidences of ND outbreaks in the future.