Survey of Gallibacterium anatis and Its Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern in Village Chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) in Maiduguri, North-eastern Nigeria

The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of Gallibacterium anatis; isolate the bacterium and determine its antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in apparently healthy village chickens in the study area. Out of the total of 150 samples which comprises of 75 tracheal and 75 cloacal swab samples collected from apparently healthy chickens of both sexes and various age groups analysed, 37 samples were found positive for Gallibacterium anatis with an overall prevalence rate of 24.67%. The bacterium was more prevalent in village chickens sampled from village poultry farmers households (17.33%) compared to those sampled from the live birds markets (7.33%). Isolation of the bacterium was more frequent in the tracheal swabs (18.67%) than in cloacal swabs (6.0%) (P = 0.0055). The prevalence of the bacterium was higher in the females (24.67%) than in the male (0.0%) chickens (P<0.0001 at 95% CI) and was also more prevalent in the adult than the young chickens (P<0.0001 at 95% CI). The prevalence of the bacterium among village chickens in this study may be associated with inadequate husbandry systems and poor hygiene. The non-haemolytic strain of the bacterium was more prevalent among the isolates compared to the haemolytic strains. The isolate of G. anatis showed negative reactions to urease, coagulase, indole and maltose test, but showed positive reactions to test with catalase, sucrose, phosphatase oxidase and sorbitol test. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern revealed that isolates were highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin and gentamycin, moderately susceptible to streptomycin and ofloxacin but resistant to amoxicillin, ceftriaxone and chloramphenicol. To control the spread of the bacterium among poultry species, adequate biosecurity measures should be put in place in all level of village poultry production system and initiation of public awareness against misuse of antibiotic by poultry farmers to avoid drug resistance.