COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON THE INFECTIVITY AND PATHOGENICITY OF EXPERIMENTAL TRYPANOSOMA BRUCEI BRUCEI INFECTION IN MICE, RATS, RABBITS AND GUINEA FOWLS
COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON THE INFECTIVITY AND PATHOGENICITY OF EXPERIMENTAL TRYPANOSOMA BRUCEI BRUCEI INFECTION IN MICE, RATS, RABBITS AND GUINEA FOWLS
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Date
2018-01
Authors
HUSSAIN, KARIMAT
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Abstract
The study compared the infectivity and pathogenecity of experimental Trypanosoma brucei
brucei infection in mice, rats, rabbits and guinea fowls. A total of 10 each of the following
animals‟ mice, rats, rabbits and guinea fowls of both sexes were used for the study. Each
group of the animal species was divided into two groups (infected and control) of five
animals each. The mice, rats, rabbits and guinea fowls in the infected groups were
individually inoculated with blood containing 1 x106 Trypanosoma brucei brucei (Fadere
stock). All animals in the control groups were not infected. Patent parasitaemia as
determined by haematocrit centrifugation technique was between 3-4 days in the mice and
rats, while it was 7-8 days in rabbits. No parasitaemia was seen in the infected Guinea fowl
throughout the study. The mean body weights of mice, rats and rabbits decreased in the
infected group as compared to the control group. All animals in the infected group with the
exception of guinea fowls showed increase in body temperature. In the mice and rats there
were significance diferrences (SD) (p < 0.05) in the overall mean PCV, HGB and RBC
between the infected groups (IG) as compared to the control group (CG). In the rabbits
there were SSD (P < 0.05) in the overall mean PCV, HGB and RBC between the IG (36.1 ±
0.6%, 12.11 ± 0.8 g/dl and 5.9 ± 0.4×106) and CG (43.7 ± 0.5%, 14.1 ± 0.9 g/dl and 7.23 ±
0.3×106 respectively). There was no SD (P > 0.05) between the overall mean PCV, HGB
and RBC of the infected guinea fowls and those of the control group throughout the period
of the experiment. Also, no mortality was recorded among the infected guinea fowls as
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consequence of the infection. A decrease in mean total white blood cell (WBC) counts of
the rats and the rabbits were observed while mice and guinea fowls groups showed no
significance difference between the WBC of the infected and control groups. Microscopic
lesions observed in the mice, rats and rabbits included congested central vein and
perivascular cuffing, congestion and mononuclear cellular infilteration around blood
vessels of the lungs, depletion of lymphoid cells, congested inter tubular spaces and focal
necrosis of renal tubular epithelium. In the guinea fowls, the spleen revealed
heamosiderosis. The study thus demonstrated that mice, rats and rabbits are, in order of
susceptibility better laboratory models than the guinea fowls which tend to show some
measure of resistance to Trypanosoma brucei brucei used in the experiment. Therefore
rabbits could be use in our laboratory to preserve Trypanosoma brucei brucei.
Description
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES,
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN VETERINARY PROTOZOOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY AND ENTOMOLOGY, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY,
ZARIA, NIGERIA
Keywords
COMPARATIVE STUDIES,, INFECTIVITY,, PATHOGENICITY,, TRYPANOSOMA BRUCEI BRUCEI,, INFECTION,, MICE, RATS, RABBITS AND GUINEA FOWLS,