Parasitic Burdens, Egg Output, Hemathologic, and Biochemical Changes in Naturally Infected Lambs with Dicrocoelium dendriticum

We investigated the variations of heamathologic and biochemical parameters with different parasitic burdens and the correlation between fecal egg counts and fluke number in livers of sheep naturally infected with Dicrocoelium dendriticum.
In order to detect excretion of D. dendriticum eggs, fecal samples from 120 sheep of different age groups were collected individually at slaughterhouse in Neyshabur County in Razavi Khorasan Province during December 2013 - October 2014. Hematologic and blood biochemical values in 120 sheep naturally infected with D. dendriticum were compared with equivalent values in 120 parasite-free sheep from an organically farmed flock. Investigated animals were kept in outdoor system, on pastures covered with swamps, which remain flooded after rainy season.
Total numbers of flukes in livers obtained from infected sheep at autopsy varied between 10 and 18,500. A positive relationship was noted (r= 0.94, P Infection with > 400 D. dendriticum in the liver could be diagnosed by egg per gram. However, there was no relationship between the parasite burden and hematologic and biochemical parameters.