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Osteopenia and reduced serum alkaline phosphatase activity in grazing lambs naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes.
- Source :
-
Journal of comparative pathology [J Comp Pathol] 2001 Aug-Oct; Vol. 125 (2-3), pp. 192-203. - Publication Year :
- 2001
-
Abstract
- The effect of gastrointestinal nematode infections on bone development was investigated in growing sheep on pasture. Forty-five weaned lambs from six groups in a two-factorial design incorporating stocking rate (SR; low, medium and high) and presence or absence of infection on pasture were sampled in the late grazing season. Worm counts were performed at slaughter, and the left metacarpal bones were excised for bone assessment. Faecal egg counts and worm burdens, primarily of Ostertagia circumcincta and Trichostrongylus vitrinus, were considerably higher in the high SR infected group ("I-High") than in comparable animals at low or medium SRs, whereas uninfected groups showed negligible egg excretion. Clinical biochemistry revealed significantly reduced serum concentrations of albumin, calcium and alkaline phosphatase in infected lambs. Nematode infections were associated with significant reductions in bone mineral density (30% at high SR), measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and in bone size (9%). Histomorphometry indicated thinning of the trabecular structure and reduced bone formation in the infected groups, particularly the I-High group. Bone mineral density, bone tissue volume and structural changes were strongly associated with log-transformed worm counts. The study showed that lambs suffering from moderate to heavy degrees of naturally acquired gastrointestinal nematode infection developed marked osteopenia after weaning, i.eduring the later part of the grazing season.<br /> (Copyright Harcourt Publishers Ltd.)
- Subjects :
- Abomasum parasitology
Abomasum pathology
Absorptiometry, Photon veterinary
Animals
Bone Density physiology
Bone Diseases, Metabolic blood
Bone Diseases, Metabolic pathology
Feces parasitology
Female
Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic blood
Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic pathology
Male
Metacarpus diagnostic imaging
Metacarpus metabolism
Metacarpus pathology
Osteogenesis
Ostertagiasis blood
Ostertagiasis pathology
Parasite Egg Count veterinary
Sheep
Sheep Diseases blood
Sheep Diseases pathology
Trichostrongylosis blood
Trichostrongylosis pathology
Alkaline Phosphatase blood
Bone Diseases, Metabolic veterinary
Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic veterinary
Ostertagiasis veterinary
Sheep Diseases parasitology
Trichostrongylosis veterinary
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0021-9975
- Volume :
- 125
- Issue :
- 2-3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of comparative pathology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 11578136
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1053/jcpa.2001.0498