Comparative haematology

Reference values for the erythrocytic indices are vital for the diagnosis of anaemia and polycythemia and also for the assessment of efficacy of therapy instituted to correct these abnormalities. This study determined the reference values for the packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration (HbC), red blood cell (RBC) counts, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) of Anak 2000 broilers (A2B) at 14-day intervals for 84 days and Lohmann brown pullets (LBP) at 21-day intervals for 147 days. A total of 120 chickens were used for the study (60 A2B and 60 LBP), and all haematological determinations followed standard procedures. Results of the determinations on the A2B showed that PCV and HbC did not significantly vary (p > 0.05) with age and had a low correlation with age (r = −0.22 and r = 0.15, respectively), but RBC counts increased with and positively correlated with age (r = 0.78), while MCV and MCH decreased with and were strongly inversely correlated with age (r = −0.80 and r = −0.84, respectively), and MCHC did not follow a definite pattern. For the LBP, there were no significant variations (p > 0.05) associated with age in the PCV, RBC counts, MCV, MCH and MCHC up to 105 days of age; the significant variations (p < 0.05) obtained after day 105 were associated with pre-lay and egg-laying. The HbC of the LBP did not significantly vary (p > 0.05) all through the study. When compared with findings in similar studies as reported by other investigators, some of the values obtained in this study and the patterns of change in relation to age were in agreement while some others contrasted, probably because of differences between the strains and the climatic/environmental conditions under which the chickens were raised.

An 8-week growth trial was carried out in freshwater fiberglass tanks to investigate the effects of different dietary prebiotic inulin levels on hematologic and biochemical parameters and some blood serum enzymes in juvenile great sturgeon (Huso huso). Four experimental diets were formulated to contain different prebiotic inulin levels (0.0%, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 3.0%, respectively). Triplicate groups of fish (50 fish per tank with an average body weight of 16.14 ± 0.38 g) were assigned to each diet. Blood samples were taken from the caudal vein of 60 apparently healthy fish at the end of the trial. No significant differences were observed in serum enzymes between the treatment groups (P > 0.05). The results show that with the increase in supplementation level of inulin, the mean values of alkaline phosphatase decreased but the mean value of other enzymes increased. white blood cell count increased significantly in group treated with 1% inulin compared with the other groups (P < 0.05). No significant difference between the treatment groups was observed in some hematologic and biochemical parameters such as red blood cell count, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and glucose (P > 0.05). With the increase supplementation level of inulin, the mean values of cholesterol, MCH, and MCH concentration increased, but the mean value of glucose, white blood cell count, red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular volume decreased.

Measurement of the acute phase serum protein, haptoglobin (Hp), is performed by biochemical methods based on haemoglobin binding, in many veterinary diagnostic laboratories. During attempts to develop a robust biochemical assay for serum Hp it was discovered that serum albumin interfered with the assay system increasing results by as much as 0.28 mg/ml, which could affect interpretation of results especially in species with low normal Hp concentrations. A reagent cocktail (SB-7) was devised which inhibited the interfering effect of albumin. An automated assay for Hp utilising SB-7 was developed for production as a biochemical assay kit and was evaluated for use in veterinary diagnosis. The intra-assay coefficients of variation were of 0.9%, 0.9% and 1.3% for Hp concentrations of 2.0, 1.0 and 0.23 mg/ml, respectively and interassay coefficients of variation of 1.7% and 4.5% for Hp of 2.08 mg/ml and 0.24 mg/ml, respectively. The lower limit of detection of was 0.02 mg/ml, linearity extended to 8 mg/ml and recovery was 101±7% (mean ±SD). The assay had correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.96 and 0.90 when compared with immunodiffusion assays of canine Hp and bovine Hp, respectively. Lipaemia and bilirubinaemia caused no interference. Haemolysis did not affect measurement of low levels of Hp, but at serum Hp concentrations of 0.4 and 1.8 mg/ml the apparent Hp concentration was decreased. Elevated concentrations of Hp were measured in cattle with mastitis, dogs with polyarthritis and rats experimentally infected withBordetella pertussis. The automated assay is precise and has negligible interference from albumin.