An Appraisal of the Use of Vaccination for Disease Prevention in Poultry in Ibadan, Nigeria

It has become almost practically impossible to engage in commercial poultry production without the challenges of diseases. Farmers therefore, have intensified efforts on various preventive measures including vaccination but with varying degree of success. This study was undertaken to assess the use and effectiveness of vaccination as a disease preventive measure in poultry. Structured questionnaires were administered to thirty poultry farmers randomly selected from Ibadan, Nigeria. Questions asked included those on the disease prevention strategies, source and types of vaccines, vaccination schedule and effectiveness of vaccination exercise in relation to frequency of disease outbreaks among others. Results showed that all the farmers practiced multiple preventive measures; 87% of them regularly vaccinate their chickens. Chickens were vaccinated against Marek’s, Newcastle, Gumboro (IBDV), Coccidiosis, Fowl Pox, Fowl Typhoid, Infectious Coryza, Chronic respiratory disease and Fowl Cholera by 100%, 100%, 80%, 68%, 60%, 4%, 4%, 4% and 4% of the farmers respectively. From the 25 farmers that responded, 60% (15) used mainly imported vaccines while other farmers used local vaccines produced by the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Nigeria. Vaccination still remains a very effective method of disease control since most of the farms that carried out vaccination reported no disease outbreaks.