Effect Of Fasciola Spp.on Physiological Parameters In Female Buffaloes With Secial Reference To Host Endocrine Interaction :

Dina Aboel Soued Mohamed Ahmed

Fasciolosis is a serious parasitic disease infecting buffaloes, cattle,goats, sheep, donkeys, swine, horses, camels and rabbits which werereported as vertebrate hosts for the parasite Fasciola Spp. Fasciolosiscauses great economic losses for breeders resulted from decreasedproduction of meat, milk, secondary bacterial infections and fertilityproblems.The study aimed to discuss the effect of fasciolosis on fertilitystatus, endocrine, haematological and biochemical profiles of theparasitized female buffaloes. It aimed also, to improve fertility in nonpregnantbuffalo-cows through administration of exogenoussynchronizing drugs and assessment of the effect of these hormones on:sex hormones, liver function tests parameters, Glucose and minerals inserum and Erythrogram and Leukogram in the blood of healthy andinfected buffalo-cows before and after treatment. In addition, 12 infectedbuffalo-cows were treated with two types of anti-Fasciola drugs andmeasure the response of endogenous hormones to these drugs.All animals in the farm (163 buffalo-cows) were examined forparasitic infection using coprological and serological techniques. Thepercentage of parasitic infection among all animals in the herd was22.58% in younger animals (heifers) while, it was 26.5% in multiparousanimals. In heifers, the percentage of Fasciola infection was 6.45%. Onthe other hand, it was 6.82% in multiparous animals.ELISA technique scored 12 buffalo-cows showing positive titersagainst Fasciola gigantica E/S antigen from those animals that werepreviously classified as coprologically negative animals. Prevalence ofinfection in buffalo-cows examined by faecal analysis was 6.75%awhereas, the idence of infection had increased to 14.11% using ELISAmethod.Results revealed that the length of post partum period (PPP)increased significantly in the Fasciola infected animals compared to thehealthy animals. In addition, the length of lactation period and the dailymilk yield appeared to decrease significantly in the infected animalscompared to the healthy ones.Current study showed that there was a significant decrease inestradiol concentrations in the infected than the healthy group. However,progesterone concentrations were increased significantly in the infectedbuffalo-cows than the healthy ones.Blood tests from individual animals were routinely used to extractpertinent information relative to herd nutrition and help to diagnosemetabolic disease problems in ruminants. RBCs count in infected animalswas decreased significantly than that of the control healthy ones. Thestudy detected a high significant decrease in Hb concentrations of theinfected than that of the healthy animals. Regarding MCV and MCHlevels, they were decreased but not significantly in the infected than thehealthy group. MCHC in the infected animals showed a slight but notsignificant elevation than that in the healthy ones. Moreover, WBCscount was found to increase significantly in the infected group comparedto the healthy one.Several serum enzyme assays were investigated by a number ofresearchers and found to be useful as indicators of parenchyma liver cellnecrosis in domestic ruminants. ALT and AST concentrations were raisedsignificantly in infected than the healthy animals while, ALPconcentrations were decreased significantly in the infected than thehealthy ones.Summary92Both total and direct bilirubin were increased significantly in thecontrol infected group compared to the healthy one.There were significant increases in the total protein and globulinconcentration in the infected than the healthy animals while, albuminconcentrations and A/G ratio decreased significantly in the infected groupthan the healthy one.A very high significant decrease in glucose concentrations wasfound in the control infected than the control healthy animals.A significant decrease in the iron, copper and phosphorusconcentrations was detected in the control infected animals than thecontrol healthy animals.There was a significant decrease in estradiol concentrations and asignificant increase in progesterone concentrations of the healthy grouptreated with GPG protocol and the healthy group treated with GPG plusCIDR protocol. Infected animals showed a significant decrease inestradiol and progesterone concentrations after treatment with GPGprotocol and GPG plus CIDR protocol.The pregnancy rate in the healthy animals was (33.3 %) anddecreased to (16.7 %) in the presence of Fasciola infection. Thesepercentages increased after injecting GPG and GPG plus CIDR protocolsin healthy animals to 75 and 77.8%, respectively, and to 50 and 55.6%,respectively, in infected animals. These results indicated that the use ofGPG and GPG plus CIDR protocols improved the reproductive efficiencyin the tested buffalo-cows.There were significant increases in RBCs and WBCs counts,RDW and lymphocyte percentages, PCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC, Hb, ALT,ALP, globulin, glucose and phosphorus levels and significant decreasesin granulocyte percentage, AST, total and direct bilirubin and albuminconcentrations, A/G ratio and iron levels in infected animals injected withSummary93GPG protocol than healthy animals receiving the same treatments.Monocyte percentage, total protein and copper levels didn’t show anysignificant differences between the infected and healthy groups treatedwith GPG protocol.Infected animals receiving the GPG plus CIDR protocol showed asignificant increase in WBCs count, PCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDWand lymphocyte percentages, Hb, AST, total and direct bilirubin, totalprotein, globulin, glucose concentrations and a significant decrease inmonocyte percentage, ALT, ALP and phosphorus concentrations thanthat of the healthy ones. Infected animals injected with GPG plus CIDRprotocol showed no significant differences in RBCs counts, granulocytepercentage, albumin, iron and copper levels, when compared to healthyanimals receiving the same treatments.Avinide® (Rafoxanide) and Fasciontel® (Closantel) were used asanti-Fasciola treatment. It was found that E2 concentrations decreasedsignificantly in the groups treated with anti-Fasciola as compared to thecontrol group while, P4 increased significantly groups treated with anti-Fasciola as compared to the control group. Fasciolosis impaired fertilitymost likely as a consequence of the resulting pathological andphysiological changes. The results of the present work supported the ideaas when the infected buffalo-cows received anti-Fasciola treatments, thepregnancy rates increased from 16.7 in the infected animals to 67.7%after treatments.