Aspergillosis is important in poultry production and human health but difficulty in its ante mortem diagnosis in addition to the  unsuccessful outcome of most management options has made the disease a lingering nightmare to farmers. This study presents the clinicopathological features and management of aspergillosis in some poultry farms in Jos metropolis, Nigeria. Thirteen cases of  aspergillosis from 12 poultry farms were confirmed and managed from April, 2019 to March, 2020 with 7.6% cases in a mixed turkey-broiler farm, 15.4% in broilers and 76.9% in layers. The ages affected ranged from 3 weeks to 21 weeks with 69.2% cases in pullet grower birds of 10 – 21 weeks compared to young chicks, 3 – 9 weeks with 30.8%. The rainy season accounted for 61.8% cases while mortality ranged from 1.0% to 17.4%. The clinical features were consistent and included dyspnoea; inappetence; retarded growth and mortality. While necropsy showed consolidated lungs with caseous nodules; liver with raised grayish or yellowish irregular nodules; peritonitis with the peritoneum and air sacs laced with caseous nodules; diphtheritic membrane and caseous nodules on intestinal mucosa; haemorrhagic bursitis with granulomata; caseous nodules on osseous tissues as well as nodules on the skin and skeletal muscles. Confirmatory diagnoses of  aspergillosis were made by culturing nodules on Sabouraud’s Dextrose Agar. Antifungal susceptibility testing showed CuSO4 to be more susceptible which was used at the dosage of 3g/10L of drinking water for at least 7 days in all the cases. Concurrent bacterial infections were seen in some of the cases and were treated concurrently with antibiotics based on susceptibility testing while farmers using moldy feeds were asked to withdraw such feeds. Conclusively, aspergillosis is prevalent in Jos metropolis with severe impact on production and  may be a silent killer disease in poultry due to constraints in diagnosis and its management. Keywords: Aspergillosis, clinicopathological features, Jos, management, Nigeria, poultry

No abstract

An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N8 in two multiage chicken flocks in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria, is described. Diagnosis was made using tissue samples from the affected farms that were submitted to the Regional Lab for Animal Influenza and other Transboundary Animal Diseases, National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom. Pullets with broilers of 9 and 4 weeks of age respectively, from farm A (fA) and broilers, 4 weeks of age from farm B (fB) were submitted from flocks experiencing a drastic increase in mortality. The February 2019 outbreak resulted in10-60 % and 60 % mortality on fA and fB respectively. Clinical signs included anorexia, depression, hock sitting and sudden onset of increasing mortality. Gross lesions included edema of the head with cyanosis of comb and wattle; swollen abdomen due to ascites; generalized congestion of visceral organs with frank blood in the abdomen; congested mesenteric vessels with haemorrhages in the mucosa of small and large intestines; congested and frothy lungs with severe hemorrhagic tracheitis among others. In view of the clinical and gross pathology, HPAI was considered as the tentative diagnosis. Diagnosis of HPAI subtype H5N8 was confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and viral isolation in embryonated chicken eggs. The current outbreak has shown the presence of HPAI H5N8 in the country different from the H5N1 subtype that was introduced since 2006 in Nigeria. The co-circulation of these two subtypes if the current wave of infection is left unchecked will have adverse effects on poultry production, international trade and human health. Hence, the need for the re-evaluation and strengthening of the Government control policy to save the poultry industry from perennial economic loses.

The apparent absence of established dosage regime for medicating tilapia with fluoroquinolones in the country necessitated investigating the absorption and tissue distribution of ciprofloxacin, since dosage regimes conform to accepted standards of pharmacokinetic studies. Ciprofloxacin pharmacokinetic studies were conducted on 76 hybrid tilapia weighing between 100 and 200 grams divided into two groups with each subjected to bath administration of ciprofloxacin at two different concentrations. The fishes in groups 1 and 2 were exposed by bath to 50 mg and 25 mg respectively of ciprofloxacin per litre of water. Tissue and blood samples were collected at 0.5h, 1h, 2h, 4h, and 8h during medication and drug withdrawal at 24h, 48h, and 72h, to quantify their ciprofloxacins by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Peak serum concentration of ciprofloxacin in group 1 was 2,251±877 µg/L at 8 h while for group 2; it was 2,226±174 µg/L at 4 h exposure time. The t-test comparing the means of the groups 1 and 2 showed that there was no significant statistical difference (p > 0.05) on group sera, liver and kidney, except skeletal muscle ciprofloxacin concentration. The elimination half-lives in groups 1 and 2 were determined on serum ciprofloxacin values, after withdrawal of drug and were 27.75 h and 31.8 h, with rate constant of elimination being 0.025 h -1 and 0.022 h -1 respectively. Sera Area under Curve, {AUC (0.5-8h) } values were 12,159.3 and 13,194 µg/L respectively with 92.2% correlation. Prolonged high ciprofloxacin concentration was observed in tilapia skeletal muscle. High correlation in sera AUC values is suggestive of similar therapeutic action hence; it is cheaper to use the lower dose. While a prolonged high ciprofloxacin concentration in skeletal muscle has therapeutic advantage for fish, it remains a public health concern because the muscle is an edible tissue.

Avian salmonellosis has huge economic and public health impact. In this manuscript, a case of S. Enteritidis and its management within Jos Metropolis was reported. Fiftythree carcasses of 2-weeks old pullets were presented at the poultry and fish clinic of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Jos, Nigeria for investigation. There was persistent mortality despite 5 days medication with 20% Enrofloxacin (Floxinor®, Shijiazhuang Guanghua Pharmaceutical co. Ltd, Hebei, China). Cumulative mortality within 14 days was 203 birds in a flock of 4,000. Necropsy was done and harvested were subjected to microbial analysis for bacterial isolation, identification and antibiotic susceptibility test while portions of these organs were preserved in 10% formalin for histopathology. Necropsy findings were empty crops, hepatitis with petechial hemorrhages, nephritis, congested and consolidated lungs, peritonitis, congested spleens and mild enteritis. Histologically, there were vacuolation and necrosis of renal tubular epithelia cells and interstitial infiltration with heterophils. Severe disorganization of hepatic cords, infiltration with inflammatory cells and mild necrosis of hepatocytes were observed, while there was severe congestion and diffuse hemorrhages in the lungs. Cellular infiltration within the lamina propria of small intestine with stunting and blunting of the villi were observed. Organism isolated on MacConkey agar was identified as Salmonella Enteritidis. Antibiotic susceptibility test showed the organism to be most susceptible to Streptomycin, which was administered via drinking water at dosage of 40mg/kg with good recovery of the flock. It was concluded that the occurrence of Salmonella Enteritidis infection in this flock might be from the hatchery or via ingestion of contaminated feed and water. Day old chicks should be screened for Salmonella infection and strict biosecurity should be instituted on poultry farms. Keywords: Mortality, Necrosis, Pullets, Salmonella Enteritidis, streptomycin