DefinePK

Abstract

Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease found in cattles, transmitted by piroplasm which enters into the host RBCs and destroys them completely. It also affects different organs resulting into the death of animals. This study was aimed to evaluate the biochemical and hormonal outcomes of babesiosis in cattles in Lahore, Pakistan. Blood samples were collected from 89 cows from military farm of Lahore and brought to physiology/endocrinology laboratory, University of Punjab for biochemical analysis. Different parameters such as glucose, cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglycerides (TG) were analyzed by chemistry analyzer while thyroxine (T4) was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Statistical analysis was carried out using independent samples t-test. Out of 89 cattles, 25% (n=22) were found to be infected with Babesia. Results of present investigation demonstrated prominent increase in levels of glucose (P<0.001) (41%) and triglycerides (P<0.001) (22%) in infected cattles. Whereas, significant decrease was evidenced in concentration of thyroxine (P<0.01) (21%) and HDL (P<0.001) (30%) in Babesia-infected cattles as compared to non-infected cattles. However, levels of cholesterol demonstrated non-significant decrease (15%) in Babesia-infected animals than healthy animals. Such variations in thyroid and lipid profile can increase the risk of hyperglycemia, hepatic and cardiac dysfunction among cattles.
Keywords: Babesia; Cattles; ELISA; High density lipoprotein; Thyroxine; Triglycerides
http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2021.100033