title: Hematological profile of East African short-horn zebu calves from birth to 51 weeks of age.
abstract: This paper is the first attempt to accurately describe the hematological parameters for any African breed of cattle, by capturing the changes in these parameters over the first 12 months of an animal's life using a population-based sample of calves reared under field conditions and natural disease challenge. Using a longitudinal study design, a stratified clustered random sample of newborn calves was recruited into the IDEAL study and monitored at 5-weekly intervals until 51 weeks of age. The blood cell analysis performed at each visit included: packed cell volume; red cell count; red cell distribution width; mean corpuscular volume; mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration; hemoglobin concentration; white cell count; absolute lymphocyte, eosinophil, monocyte, and neutrophil counts; platelet count; mean platelet volume; and total serum protein. The most significant age-related change in the red cell parameters was a rise in red cell count and hemoglobin concentration during the neonatal period. This is in contrast to what is reported for other ruminants, including European cattle breeds where the neonatal period is marked by a fall in the red cell parameters. There is a need to establish breed-specific reference ranges for blood parameters for indigenous cattle breeds. The possible role of the postnatal rise in the red cell parameters in the adaptability to environmental constraints and innate disease resistance warrants further research into the dynamics of blood cell parameters of these breeds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X4, Onderstepoort, Pretoria, 0110 South Africa.
authors.forename: I Conradie
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: van Wyk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goddard
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: de C Bronsvoort
authors.forename: J A W
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Coetzer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Booth
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hanotte
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiara
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mashego
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pretorius
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Poole
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Thumbi
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Toye
authors.forename: M E J
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Woolhouse
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Penzhorn
keywords: Calves; East African; Hematology; Longitudinal study; Zebu
references.citation: Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2006 Dec;100(8):679-701
references.pmid: 17227648
references.citation: Vet Clin Pathol. 2006 Jun;35(2):182-7
references.pmid: 16783710
references.citation: Can J Comp Med. 1980 Jan;44(1):24-31
references.pmid: 7397596
references.citation: Trop Anim Health Prod. 2006 Jan;38(1):65-74
references.pmid: 17405630
references.citation: Trop Anim Health Prod. 2005 Nov;37(8):635-52
references.pmid: 16619880
references.citation: Lancet. 1976 Jun 12;1(7972):1269-72
references.pmid: 73695
references.citation: Vet Rec. 2000 Nov 18;147(21):593-8
references.pmid: 11110479
references.citation: Hemoglobin. 2006;30(4):419-35
references.pmid: 16987797
references.citation: Res Vet Sci. 2007 Aug;83(1):30-9
references.pmid: 17188315
references.citation: Vet Parasitol. 1995 Mar;57(1-3):19-41
references.pmid: 7597784
references.citation: Bull Epizoot Dis Afr. 1973 Dec;21(4):85-7
references.pmid: 4802608
references.citation: Acta Trop. 2001 Feb 23;78(2):163-70
references.pmid: 11230826
references.citation: Acta Trop. 2008 Aug;107(2):186-91
references.pmid: 18599006
references.citation: Blood Cells. 1990;16(2-3):321-39; discussion 340-9
references.pmid: 2257317