Hematological, biochemical alterations and methane production in sheep submitted to mixed infection of Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus colubriformis

Abstract

The main current concern in ruminant production is focused on sustainability. In this sense, the objective was to evaluate ruminal fermentative alterations and methane (CH4) production, as well as hematological and biochemical alterations in sheep submitted to a single mixed infection with 10,000 infective larvae (L3) of Haemonchus contortus and 30,000 L3 of Trichostrongylus colubriformis. Twenty castrated males Santa Inês sheep, seven months old averaging 30.8 ± 6.41 kg of body weight were used. Ten animals were infected, and ten animals were uninfected, in a completely randomized design. During the experimental period, blood and ruminal content samples were collected, as well as the leftovers and diet provided. Enteric methane (CH4) production of the animals was measured at the end of the experiment. Parasitic infection affected dry matter intake, decreased red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and packed cell volume (PCV), and increased eosinophils and platelets numbers (P < 0.05). Ruminal fermentative changes were also observed, with changes in the short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production profile, increase in propionate and decrease in acetate, and higher CH4 production in infected animals. Thus, it is concluded that H. contortus and T. colubriformis mix infection in sheep reduces forage dry matter consumption, causes hematological changes and ruminal fermentation patterns, impairing nutritional metabolism with greater CH4 production by infected animals.