Effects of experimental Fasciola hepatica infection and nutrition in Menz sheep.

摘要

A total of 147 weaned female Menz lambs (3-3.5 months old) were divided into 4 groups comprising infected and supplemented (IS), non-infected and supplemented (NS), infected and non-supplemented (IN) and non-infected and non-supplemented (NN) to study the effects of experimental Fasciola hepatica infection and nutrition over a period of 24 weeks. The lambs were each orally infected with 500 metacercariae (250 in one dose followed by weekly doses of 15). Mortality in groups IN and NN were possibly due to inadequate nutrition and acute fascioliasis. Apart from the level of nutrition and infection, survival was influenced by initial body weight and varied from 6.9-99.9% for body weights of 5-16.5 kg. Both IS and NS groups showed increased survival rates. The mean fortnightly packed cell volume showed significant (P<0.01) differences between infected and non-infected groups at 8 weeks pi before the prepatent period of 10-12 weeks. Differences in mean monthly body weight and mean monthly body condition score were observed at 16 weeks pi when chronic fascioliasis developed. There was a difference of 1.9 kg in body weight between the IS and NS groups at the end of the study.