IMPACT OF GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES ON IMMUNOCOMPROMISED RUMINANTS

Abstract

Gastrointestinal (GI) parasitic infections are a significant threat to ruminant health, with more serious effects in animals with suppressed immune systems. This study investigated the effects of GI parasites on immunodeficient ruminants by comparing parasitological burden, clinical severity, hematobiochemical profiles, immune parameters, and productivity performance with those of their immunocompetent counterparts. Sixty ruminants (30 immunocompromised and 30 controls) were included in this study. Immunosuppressed animals had higher strongyle fecal egg counts (1370.3 ± 428.4 vs 504.3 ± 130.6 EPG; p < 0.001) and increased Eimeria oocyst scores (1607.0 ± 1133.2 vs 734.3 ± 476.4 OPG; p <0.001). Hematological and biochemical parameters reflected significant disease influence as packed cell volume (22.13 ± 2.50% vs 29.79 ± 2.61%; p < 0.001), serum albumin (2.37 ± 0.25 vs 3.30 ± 0.22 g/dL; p<0.001) and total protein (5.70 ± 0.40 vs 7.04 ± 0.32 g/dL; p<0·001) were significantly lower in immunocompromised group animals than the control counterparts, respectively). Multiple parasitic infections were identified in 90.0% of immunocompromised ruminants, compared to 0% in the controls (χ² = 45.52, p < 0.001), and Haemonchus had a significantly higher prevalence (70.0% vs 13.3%; p < 0.001). Productive performance was seriously impaired in immunocompromised animals, with lower mean daily gain (66.8 ± 36.7 vs 117.7 ± 44.9 g/day; p < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between the parasite burden and anemia (ρ = −0.994), diarrhea severity (ρ = 0.936), and diminished body weight gain (ρ = −0.798) (all p < 0.001). The results of the present study show that immunosuppressed ruminants suffer from significantly greater parasite loads and attendant clinical and productivity losses when infected, indicating a clear need for specific parasite control strategies within populations at risk.