Open Access
Analysis of the productive and immune response of lambs infected with gastrointestinal nematodes and fed with saccharin
Author(s) -
Roberto González-Gardúño,
Luis Matias Silva-Torres,
Glafíro Torres-Hernández,
María Eugenia López-Arellano,
Ever del Jesús Flores-Santiago,
A.J. Aguilar-Caballero,
Luis Manuel Vargas-Villamil,
Claudia Virginia Zaragoza-Vera
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
agro productividad
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2594-0252
DOI - 10.32854/agrop.v14i2.1963
Subject(s) - anthelmintic , biology , haemonchus contortus , zoology , eggs per gram , grazing , feces , completely randomized design , immune system , veterinary medicine , helminths , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , medicine
Objective: Determine the productive and immune response of Blackbelly lambs infectedwith gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) and fed with saccharin.Design/ methodology/ approach: A total of 18 Blackbelly lambs, with an initial live weight (LW) of 13.9 + 3.2 kg, were randomly assigned to three different treatments (T): T1, anthelmintic treatment + basal diet (CTah); T2, basal diet without anthelmintic treatment (STah); and T3, grazing lambs without anthelmintic treatment (STPS). This experiment followed a completely randomized design with repeated measures over time; mean values were compared using Lsmeans. The parameters evaluated included live weight (LW), fecal egg count per gram (FEC), packed-cell volume (PCV), plasma protein (PP), white blood celldifferential count (LEU), and IgA concentration by ELISA with Haemonchus contortusand Trichostrongylus colubriformis antigens.Results: STah and CTah lambs showed higher FEC (885 ± 142) and LW (29.73 ± 5.06kg). Grazing lambs (STPS) had lower PCV (26.4 ± 0.5%) compared to the STah andCTah lambs (27.4 to 28.4%) due to the high prevalence of H. contortus. The IgAconcentration in grazing lambs ranged from 20.2 to 24.5% of the positive standardserum titer. The feedlot lambs (STah and CTah) showed values close to 5%.Study limitations/ implications: Due to anthelmintic resistance problems, it wasimpossible to maintain grazing lambs free of infection; therefore, this group was notincluded.Findings/ conclusions: Saccharin increases sheep resilience and achieves adequateweight gains in parasitized lambs.