COMPARATIVE HEMATO-BIOCHEMICAL STUDY ON THEILERIOSIS IN NATURALLY INFECTED PUNJAB URIAL (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) AND DOMESTIC SHEEP (Ovis aries) IN PAKISTAN - S. Shahzad; M. Y. Tipu; A. Aslam; T. Hussain; Z. Ali; S. Y. Shelly; Ziaullah; M. B. Saleem; A. Yaqub; S. S. Ahmad Lahore Zoo; Lahore; Pakistan (Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 2015)
Theileria is a tick-borne protozoan infesting wild and domestic ruminants globally. This research was conducted to evaluate hemato-biochemical alterations in theileria infected Punjab Urial and domestic sheep and to study comparative efficiency of traditional screening methods with modern techniques. A total of 98 blood samples with thin blood smears of Urial and Domestic Sheep from Punjab, Pakistan with history of tick infestation, were collected and screened through microscopic techniques and PCR for Theileriosis respectively during summer 2013. Hematological parameters were analyzed by automatic hematology analyzer (Diatron Abacus) and Serum was analyzed by Semi-automatic Chemistry Analyzer (Micro Lab 300). Hematobiochemical findings revealed significant decrease (P<0.05) in Erythrocyte count, Leukocyte count, Hemoglobin Concentration, Pack Cell Volume, Total Proteins, Albumin and Creatinine in infected animals of both Urial and domestic sheep as compared with their control, while significant increase (P<0.05) in ALT, AST and Total Bilirubin was seen. Microscopic examination detected 47.6% of Urial and 35.6% of domestic sheep positive for Theileria while PCR analysis detected 54.7% positive samples in Urial and 51.7% in domestic sheep. This study concluded the basic data for values of hematology and serum biochemistry in Urial and domestic sheep with a higher susceptibility of Urial towards Theileriosis. piroplasmosis (Kirvar et al. 1998). These methods are
Keywords: journal article; Hemato-biochemical; Punjab Urial; domestic sheep; Theileria; Pakistan