Abstract

Viral diseases are major causes of severe economic losses in poultry worldwide. Information on the economic impact of these diseases in poultry in Abuja is scanty. This study assesses the economic impact from losses incurred due to the outbreaks of Newcastle disease, (ND), Infectious bursal disease (IBD) and Avian influenza (AI) in some selected poultry farms in Abuja from 2006 to 2015 as well as personnel perception and knowledge on the economic impact of the diseases. A six (6) poultry farms with history of outbreaks were sampled for the study from 3 Area Councils (Gwagwalada, Kuje and Municipal) in Abuja. Also, a total of 60 structured questionnaires were administered to personnel in the poultry industry. Economic losses were categorized into number and monetary value of birds lost, drop in production and loss of jobs. Data from farm records were collected, computed and analyzed using a two-way ANOVA. Results indicated that ND, AI and IBD made up of 58%, 7.6% and 33% respectively from the recorded outbreaks. Also, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the cumulative outbreaks, monetary value of birds lost and layoff of workers amongst the selected farms. However, other economic variables showed no significant difference. In monetary terms, outbreaks of ND resulted in the highest cumulative losses (N13 million) whilst AI caused more losses when evaluated per outbreak (N2 million). Most respondents in the questionnaire survey were involved in commercial (22%) and household production (21.6%). Awareness level of respondents on outbreaks of AI was highest and lowest for ND. Also, poultry production is a massive area of employment while biosecurity in farms need to be improved. Therefore, preventive measures are vital as these viral diseases could hinder expected revenue in poultry farms and the need for further studies to elucidate the economic losses from recurring outbreaks.

Keywords: Avian influenza, Economic loss, Infectious bursal disease, Newcastle disease, Poultry