Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most important avian diseases with considerable threat to the productivity of poultry all over the world. The disease is associated with severe respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological lesions in chicken leading to high mortality and several other production related losses. The aetiology of the disease is an avian paramyxovirus type-1 or Newcastle disease virus (NDV), whose isolates are serologically grouped into a single serotype but genetically classified into a total of 19 genotypes, owing to the continuous emergence and evolution of the virus. In Nigeria, molecular characterization of NDV is generally very scanty and majorly focuses on the amplification of the partial F gene for genotype assignment. However, with the introduction of the most objective NDV genotyping criteria which utilize complete fusion protein coding sequences in phylogenetic taxonomy, the enormous genetic diversity of the virus in Nigeria became very conspicuous. In this review, we examine the current ecological distribution of various NDV genotypes in Nigeria based on the available complete fusion protein nucleotide sequences (1662 bp) in the NCBI database. We then discuss the challenges of ND control as a result of the wide genetic distance between the currently circulating NDV isolates and the commonest vaccines used to combat the disease in the country. Finally, we suggest future directions in the war against the economically devastating ND in Nigeria.

Objective:The study was conducted to determine the presence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in chickens and farm personnel in Sokoto, North-western Nigeria. Materials and method: A total of 160 samples (136 from chickens and 14 from personnel) were collected and screened for the presence of MRSA using cultural characteristics, biochemical tests and latex slide agglutination test for the presence of Penicillin binding protein 2α (PBP2α). Results: MRSA were detected in 8.82% (n=12/136) of chickens, while 14.29% (n=2/14) in farm personnel. All the isolates were positive for PBP2α. Conclusion: This study established for the first time the occurrence of MRSA in both chickens and farm personnel from poultry farms in Sokoto, Nigeria. Thus, the study provided baseline information for further studies on the epidemiology of MRSA.

| Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen associated with food poisoning and several forms of diseases in both man and animals. In poultry, the organism is incriminated in multiple infections and syndromes such as omphalitis, femoral head necrosis, tenosynovitis and bumble foot. The treatment of staphylococcal infections is becoming more challenging due to the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains such as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that are currently resistant to all β-lactam antibiotics (penicillins and cephalosporins). In order to understand the spectrum of MRSA in poultry, a total of 12 MRSA isolates positive for the presence of penicillin binding protein 2α (PBP2α) were tested for antibiotic resistance against 10 antibiotics using disc diffusion method. Isolates were found to be completely resistant (100%) against ceftazidime, followed by erythromycin and ofloxacin (91.67%), cefuroxime, cloxacillin, and cefoxitin (83.33%), gentamicin (75.00%) and vancomycin (64.29%) while the least resistance was recorded against ceftriaxone and amoxicillin/clavulanate (58.33%). The MRSA isolates also exhibited multi-drug resistance pattern with all resisting not less than four antibiotics. These data indicate that MRSA are prevalent in the poultry and precautionary measures are required to block their transmission to human.