Abstract

Infections in poultry settings are a major setback for farmers, and they lead to economic losses, reduced protein availability, poor productivity and in cases of zoonotic infections, may constitute public health risks. Noiler breed is a hybrid of Nigerian indigenous chicken and the White Plymouth Rock chicken, which was introduced into the Nigerian meat and egg production market, especially for rural dwellers, because they require minimal management to thrive. A case of depression, respiratory distress, increased mortality and drop in egg production in a 33-week-old Noiler flock is hereby reported. Investigation carried out involved history taking, observation of clinical signs, postmortem examination of carcasses, culture and identification as well as antimicrobial and antifungal susceptibility testing using standard procedures. Escherichia coli and Aspergillus fumigatus were isolated. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that the Escherichia coli was sensitive to enrofloxacin, ceftriaxone and sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim but resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin, tetracycline and chloramphenicol. The antifungal susceptibility test showed that the Aspergillus fumigatus was susceptible to amphotericin B, voriconazole, itraconazole and econazole nitrate but resistant to anidulafungin, nystatin and fluconazole. A 7-day treatment was instituted accordingly, and a follow-up visit 10 days afterwards showed the mortality had dropped to zero and egg production had significantly risen. This case has shown the urgent need to provide veterinary services to farmers to increase productivity to meet the protein needs of the public, secure the farmers' sources of livelihood and protect public health as both pathogens have zoonotic implications.

Key words: Antifungal susceptibility, Antimicrobial susceptibility, Aspergillus fumigatus, Escherichia coli, Noiler breed