title: Haematological changes in the laboratory rat Rattus norvegicus infected with Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae).
abstract: To study possible indirect effects of the infection with intestinal helminths, 12 Rattus norvegicus (Wistar) were each experimentally exposed to 100 metacercariae of Echinostoma caproni, and blood samples were taken weekly up to 4 weeks post-exposure for comparison with control rats. Values of haematocrit (HCT), red blood cells (RBC), platelets (PLT), white blood cells (WBC), haemoglobin (HGB) and haematimatrix indices, and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentrations (MCHC) were determined. In addition, leucocyte counts, including lymphocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils were analysed. These parameters, including the leucocyte counts, showed no significant differences, except for MCHC at 4 weeks post-exposure. The present results indicate that in rats infected with E. caproni, although eosinophilia did not significantly increase, a significant reduction in MCHC was associated with an increase in the number of RBC.
authors.affiliation: Departamento Parasitología, Facultad Farmacia,Universidad Valencia,Avda. Vicent Andrés Estelles s/n, 46100-Burjassot-Valencia, España.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Antoli
authors.affiliation: Departamento Parasitología, Facultad Farmacia,Universidad Valencia,Avda. Vicent Andrés Estelles s/n, 46100-Burjassot-Valencia, España.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cortés
authors.affiliation: Departamento Parasitología, Facultad Farmacia,Universidad Valencia,Avda. Vicent Andrés Estelles s/n, 46100-Burjassot-Valencia, España.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Departamento Parasitología, Facultad Farmacia,Universidad Valencia,Avda. Vicent Andrés Estelles s/n, 46100-Burjassot-Valencia, España.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.affiliation: Departamento Parasitología, Facultad Farmacia,Universidad Valencia,Avda. Vicent Andrés Estelles s/n, 46100-Burjassot-Valencia, España.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Toledo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D004449:Echinostoma / Q000502:physiology*; D004451:Echinostomiasis / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006405:Hematology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar