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Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate haematological and biochemical parameters of haemogregarine-infected (h-infected) and non-infected African hinge-back tortoises in Ibadan, Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from 120 tortoises, of which 70 were Kinixys belliana and 50 were K. homeana. Stained thin smears were examined for haemogregarines using light microscope. Haematological and biochemical analyses were carried out following standard procedures. A total of 91(75.83 %) tortoises were positive for haemogregarines. Significantly (P<0.05) lower values of haematocrit (23.92 %), haemoglobin (5.21g/dl) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (21.78 %) were recorded for h-infected tortoises with haematocrit (33.29 %), haemoglobin (8.31g/dl) and MCHC (24.96 %). Higher values of white blood cells (WBC) (7.26 x 109/L) and lymphocytes (2.71x109/L), were observed in h-infected than non-infected with WBC (5.58 x 109/L) and lymphocytes (2.15x109/L). Higher values of haematocrit and haemaglobin were recorded for K. Homeana. Males had higher haematocrit (27.27 %) and WBC (7.09 x 109/L) than females with haematocrit (24.35 %) and WBC (6.93 x 109/L). Females had higher MCHC, haemoglobin and calcium values than males.The lower values of haematocrit, haemoglobin and MCHC obtained for h-infected tortoises were expected since haemogregarines are usually found intra-erythrocytic in their host thereby destroying affected erythrocytes and causing a decrease in haematocrit value. Higher WBC counts in h-infected tortoises is typical in diseased conditions. The higher level of calcium in female tortoises is due to their reproductive cycle especially vitellogenesis and egg formation. Hypo-proteinaemia recorded in h- infected tortoises was attributed to parasitism. It is concluded that majority of haematological and biochemical analytes showed considerable variations with level of infection status, species and gender.
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- Aikindi A.Y.A and Mahmoud I. Y. (2002): Hematological survey in two species of sea turtles in the Arabian sea during nesting season. Pak. J. Biol. Sci.5(3): 359-361.
- Andreani G., Carpene E., Cannavacciuolo A., Girolamo N.D., Ferlizza E., Isani G. (2014): Reference values for haematology and plasma biochemistry variables, and protein electrophoresis of healthy Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermannispecies) Vet. Clin. Pathol. 573-583.
- Arikan H. and Cicek K. (2011) Arıkan, H. and Çiçek, K. 2011. Morphology of peripheral blood cells from various species of Turkish Herpetofauna. Acta Herpetologica 5(2): 179-198.
- Bomford R., Mason S. and Swash M (1974) Hutchison’s Clinical methods. 16th edition, ELBS and Bailliere Tindall, London.362p.
- Brown G.P., Shilton C.M. and Shine R., (2006): Do parasites matter? Assessing the fitness consequences of haemogregarine infection in snakes. Can. J. Zool. 84: 668-676.
- Christopher M.M., Berry K.H., Henen B.T. and Nagy K.A. (2003): Clinical disease and laboratory abnormalities in free-ranging desert tortoises in California (1990-1995). J Wildl Dis.39: 35-56.
- Cook A.C., Lawton P.S., Davies J.A. and Smit J.N. (2014): Reassignment of the land tortoise haemogregarine Haemogregarinafitzsimonsi Dias 1953 (Adeleorina: Haemogregarinidae) to the genus Hepatozoon Miller 1908 (Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) based on parasite morphology, life cycle and phylogenetic analysis of 18S RNA sequence fragments. Parasitol. 141: 1611-1620.
- Cook C.A., Netherlands E.C. and Smit N.J. (2015): First Hemolivia from southern Africa: reassigning chelonian Haemogregarinaparvula Dias, 1953 (Adeleorina: Haemogregarinidae) to Hemolivia (Adeleorina: Karyolysidae), Afr. Zool. 50 (2): 165-173.
- Diaz-Figueroa O. (2005): Characterizing the Health Status of the Louisiana Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). Thesis, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA. 119 pp.
- Dickinson V.M., Jarchow J.L. and Trueblood M.H. (2002: Hematology and plasma biochemistry reference range values for free-ranging desert tortoises in Arizona. J Wildl. Dis. 38(1): 143-153.
- Dissanayake D.S.B., Thewarage L. D., Manel Rathnayake R.M.P., Kularatne S.A.M., Shirani Ranasinghe J.G. and Jayantha Rajapakse R.P.V. (2017): Hematological and plasma biochemical parameters in a wild population of Naja naja (Linnaeus, 1758) in Sri Lanka. J. Venom. Anim.Toxins Incl. Trop. Dis. 23:8.
- Geffre A., Friedrichs K., Harr K., Concordet D., Trumel C. and Braun J.P. (2009): Reference values: A review. Vet Clin Pathol. 38(3): 288-298.
- Hamooda E.A.F., El-Mansoury A.M., Mehdi A.R. (2014): Some blood indexes of the tortoise Testudo graeca (Linn., 1758, from Benghazi Province, Libya, Scientific Vet. Res. J., 2(9): 36-44.
- Hart M.G., Samour H.J., Spratt M.J., Savage B., Hawkey C.M. and Hart M.G. (1991): An analysis of haematological findings on a feral population of aldrabra giant tortoises (Geochelone gigantea). Comparative Haematol. Int., 1(3): 145-149.
- Hetenyi N., Satorhelyi T., Kovacs S. and Hullar I. (2016): Variations in blood biochemical values in Male Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni) Veterinaria, 65:1.
- Houwen B. (2000): Blood film preparation and staining procedures. Lab.Hematol. 6: 1-7.
- Javanbakht H., Somaye V. and Paria P. (2013): The morphological characterization of the blood cells in the three species of turtle and tortoise in Iran. Res. Zool. 3(1): 38-44.
- Joyner P.H., Shreve A.A., Spahr J., Fountain A.L. and Sleeman J.M. (2006): Phaeohyphomycosis in a free living eastern box turtle (Terrapene Carolina carolina). J. Wildl. Dis. 42: 883-888.
- Knotkova Z., Mazanek S., Hovorka M., Sloboda M. and Knotek Z. (2005): Haematology and plasma chemistry of Bornean river turtles suffering from shell necrosis and haemogregarine parasites. Vet. Med. (Praha) 50: 421-426.
- Lopez-Olvera J.R., Montane J., Ignasi M., Martınez-Silvestre A., Soler J. and Lavin S. (2003): Effect of venipuncture site on hematologic and serum biochemical parameters in marginated tortoise (Testudo marginata). J. Wildl. Dis. 39: 830-836.
- Mader D. (1996): Reptile Medicine and Surgery 1st. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co., pp: 192-193, 380-381.
- McArthur S. (2004): Problem solving approach to common diseases of terrestrial and semi-aquatic chelonians. In: McArthur S., Wilkinson R., Meyer J., Innis J.C., Hernandez-Divers, S. (Eds.), Medicine and Surgery of Tortoises and Turtles. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 309-377.
- Murphy J.B. (2016): Conservation Initiatives and Studies of Tortoises, Turtles, and Terrapins Mostly in Zoos and Aquariums. Part I. Tortoises Herpetol. Rev. 47(2): 335-349.
- Nardini G., Leopardi S. and Bielli M. (2013): Clinical hematology in reptilian species. Vet. Clin. North Am. Exot. Anim. Pract. 16 (1): 1-30.
- Omonona O.A., Olukole S.G. and Fushe F.A. (2011): Haematology and serum biochemical parameters in free ranging African side neck turtle (Pelusius sinuatus) in Ibadan, Nigeria. Acta. Herpetol. 6(2): 267-274.
- Roll U., Feldman A. and Novosolov M. (2017): The global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation. Nat. Ecol. Evol.1: 1677-1682.
- Social Science Statistics (2020): https://www.socscistatistics.com/tests/. Accessed date 29/09/2020.
- Stacy N.I., Alleman A.R. and Sayler K.A. (2011): Diagnostic haematology of reptiles. Clin. Chem Lab Med. 31:87-108.
- Stuart S.N., Chanson J.S., Cox., N.A., Young B.E., Rodrigues A.S., Fischman D.L. and Waller R.W. (2004): Status and trends of amphibian declines and extinctions worldwide. Sci.306:1783–1786.
- Thrall M.A., Dale C., Baker E. and Lassen E.D. (2004): Hematology of reptiles. In: Veterinary hematology and clinical chemistry. Pennsylvania, USA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 259-276.
- Tosunoglu C., Varol T.C. and Cigdem G. (2005): Hematological values in hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and Spur-thighted tortoise (Testudo greaca) from Thrace Region, Turkey Int. J. Zoo Res., 1(1): 11-14.
- Walton S. (2002): Effects of season and cohort on the haematology of the geometric tortoise Psammobatesgeometricus. J. Wildl. Dis. 38(1):143-153.
- Wilkinson R.J. (2004): Medicine and surgery of variations in blood biochemical values in male Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni) Clinical pathology. In: Mc-Arthur S. et al. (Eds.), Tortoises and Turtles. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 141-186.
- Zaias J., Norton T., Fickel A., Spratt J., Altman N.H. and Cray C. (2006): Biochemical and hematologic values for 18 clinically healthy radiated tortoises (Geochelone radiata) on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. Vet. Clin. Pathol. 35(3): 321-325.
References
Aikindi A.Y.A and Mahmoud I. Y. (2002): Hematological survey in two species of sea turtles in the Arabian sea during nesting season. Pak. J. Biol. Sci.5(3): 359-361.
Andreani G., Carpene E., Cannavacciuolo A., Girolamo N.D., Ferlizza E., Isani G. (2014): Reference values for haematology and plasma biochemistry variables, and protein electrophoresis of healthy Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermannispecies) Vet. Clin. Pathol. 573-583.
Arikan H. and Cicek K. (2011) Arıkan, H. and Çiçek, K. 2011. Morphology of peripheral blood cells from various species of Turkish Herpetofauna. Acta Herpetologica 5(2): 179-198.
Bomford R., Mason S. and Swash M (1974) Hutchison’s Clinical methods. 16th edition, ELBS and Bailliere Tindall, London.362p.
Brown G.P., Shilton C.M. and Shine R., (2006): Do parasites matter? Assessing the fitness consequences of haemogregarine infection in snakes. Can. J. Zool. 84: 668-676.
Christopher M.M., Berry K.H., Henen B.T. and Nagy K.A. (2003): Clinical disease and laboratory abnormalities in free-ranging desert tortoises in California (1990-1995). J Wildl Dis.39: 35-56.
Cook A.C., Lawton P.S., Davies J.A. and Smit J.N. (2014): Reassignment of the land tortoise haemogregarine Haemogregarinafitzsimonsi Dias 1953 (Adeleorina: Haemogregarinidae) to the genus Hepatozoon Miller 1908 (Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) based on parasite morphology, life cycle and phylogenetic analysis of 18S RNA sequence fragments. Parasitol. 141: 1611-1620.
Cook C.A., Netherlands E.C. and Smit N.J. (2015): First Hemolivia from southern Africa: reassigning chelonian Haemogregarinaparvula Dias, 1953 (Adeleorina: Haemogregarinidae) to Hemolivia (Adeleorina: Karyolysidae), Afr. Zool. 50 (2): 165-173.
Diaz-Figueroa O. (2005): Characterizing the Health Status of the Louisiana Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). Thesis, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA. 119 pp.
Dickinson V.M., Jarchow J.L. and Trueblood M.H. (2002: Hematology and plasma biochemistry reference range values for free-ranging desert tortoises in Arizona. J Wildl. Dis. 38(1): 143-153.
Dissanayake D.S.B., Thewarage L. D., Manel Rathnayake R.M.P., Kularatne S.A.M., Shirani Ranasinghe J.G. and Jayantha Rajapakse R.P.V. (2017): Hematological and plasma biochemical parameters in a wild population of Naja naja (Linnaeus, 1758) in Sri Lanka. J. Venom. Anim.Toxins Incl. Trop. Dis. 23:8.
Geffre A., Friedrichs K., Harr K., Concordet D., Trumel C. and Braun J.P. (2009): Reference values: A review. Vet Clin Pathol. 38(3): 288-298.
Hamooda E.A.F., El-Mansoury A.M., Mehdi A.R. (2014): Some blood indexes of the tortoise Testudo graeca (Linn., 1758, from Benghazi Province, Libya, Scientific Vet. Res. J., 2(9): 36-44.
Hart M.G., Samour H.J., Spratt M.J., Savage B., Hawkey C.M. and Hart M.G. (1991): An analysis of haematological findings on a feral population of aldrabra giant tortoises (Geochelone gigantea). Comparative Haematol. Int., 1(3): 145-149.
Hetenyi N., Satorhelyi T., Kovacs S. and Hullar I. (2016): Variations in blood biochemical values in Male Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni) Veterinaria, 65:1.
Houwen B. (2000): Blood film preparation and staining procedures. Lab.Hematol. 6: 1-7.
Javanbakht H., Somaye V. and Paria P. (2013): The morphological characterization of the blood cells in the three species of turtle and tortoise in Iran. Res. Zool. 3(1): 38-44.
Joyner P.H., Shreve A.A., Spahr J., Fountain A.L. and Sleeman J.M. (2006): Phaeohyphomycosis in a free living eastern box turtle (Terrapene Carolina carolina). J. Wildl. Dis. 42: 883-888.
Knotkova Z., Mazanek S., Hovorka M., Sloboda M. and Knotek Z. (2005): Haematology and plasma chemistry of Bornean river turtles suffering from shell necrosis and haemogregarine parasites. Vet. Med. (Praha) 50: 421-426.
Lopez-Olvera J.R., Montane J., Ignasi M., Martınez-Silvestre A., Soler J. and Lavin S. (2003): Effect of venipuncture site on hematologic and serum biochemical parameters in marginated tortoise (Testudo marginata). J. Wildl. Dis. 39: 830-836.
Mader D. (1996): Reptile Medicine and Surgery 1st. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co., pp: 192-193, 380-381.
McArthur S. (2004): Problem solving approach to common diseases of terrestrial and semi-aquatic chelonians. In: McArthur S., Wilkinson R., Meyer J., Innis J.C., Hernandez-Divers, S. (Eds.), Medicine and Surgery of Tortoises and Turtles. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 309-377.
Murphy J.B. (2016): Conservation Initiatives and Studies of Tortoises, Turtles, and Terrapins Mostly in Zoos and Aquariums. Part I. Tortoises Herpetol. Rev. 47(2): 335-349.
Nardini G., Leopardi S. and Bielli M. (2013): Clinical hematology in reptilian species. Vet. Clin. North Am. Exot. Anim. Pract. 16 (1): 1-30.
Omonona O.A., Olukole S.G. and Fushe F.A. (2011): Haematology and serum biochemical parameters in free ranging African side neck turtle (Pelusius sinuatus) in Ibadan, Nigeria. Acta. Herpetol. 6(2): 267-274.
Roll U., Feldman A. and Novosolov M. (2017): The global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation. Nat. Ecol. Evol.1: 1677-1682.
Social Science Statistics (2020): https://www.socscistatistics.com/tests/. Accessed date 29/09/2020.
Stacy N.I., Alleman A.R. and Sayler K.A. (2011): Diagnostic haematology of reptiles. Clin. Chem Lab Med. 31:87-108.
Stuart S.N., Chanson J.S., Cox., N.A., Young B.E., Rodrigues A.S., Fischman D.L. and Waller R.W. (2004): Status and trends of amphibian declines and extinctions worldwide. Sci.306:1783–1786.
Thrall M.A., Dale C., Baker E. and Lassen E.D. (2004): Hematology of reptiles. In: Veterinary hematology and clinical chemistry. Pennsylvania, USA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 259-276.
Tosunoglu C., Varol T.C. and Cigdem G. (2005): Hematological values in hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and Spur-thighted tortoise (Testudo greaca) from Thrace Region, Turkey Int. J. Zoo Res., 1(1): 11-14.
Walton S. (2002): Effects of season and cohort on the haematology of the geometric tortoise Psammobatesgeometricus. J. Wildl. Dis. 38(1):143-153.
Wilkinson R.J. (2004): Medicine and surgery of variations in blood biochemical values in male Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni) Clinical pathology. In: Mc-Arthur S. et al. (Eds.), Tortoises and Turtles. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 141-186.
Zaias J., Norton T., Fickel A., Spratt J., Altman N.H. and Cray C. (2006): Biochemical and hematologic values for 18 clinically healthy radiated tortoises (Geochelone radiata) on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. Vet. Clin. Pathol. 35(3): 321-325.