Exploring the pathological impact of new castle disease in broiler chickens reared in central Kashmir: A case series

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the Pathological hallmarks of naturally occurring Newcastle disease in Broiler chickens reared in commercial broiler farms located in the Ganderbal District of Kashmir. During this study, ten outbreaks were reported across various poultry farms and the carcasses of death birds were sent to the Division of Veterinary Pathology for detailed postmortem examination. The diagnosis of the cases was confirmed by identifying pathomorphological changes in visceral organs which includes Proventriculitis, Pneumonia, Hemorrhagic enteritis, Bursitis, nephritis, splenitis, encephalitis& lymphoid depletion from lymphoid organs of broiler chickens. This study also revealed that hematological parameters like TEC, Hb, and HCT were lowered, while TLC, lymphocytes, MCH, MCV and MCHC were significantly increased in Newcastle disease affected broiler birds, indicating that Newcastle disease significantly affects the haemogram and leucogram compared to healthy broiler birds. Thus this disease continues to pose an economic threat to the poultry industry and necessitates regular monitoring to prevent its occurrence in poultry farms.