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SUMMARYThe responses of susceptible Ndama and Zebu cattle to needle challenge withTrypanosoma congolensewere followed using parasitological, haematological and radio-isotopic methods and compared with those of corresponding uninfected animals. In both breeds, infection became patent at the same time but peak parasitaemias were significantly lower, were attained later and were of short duration in the Ndama. All infected animals became anaemic, the severity of which correlated with the level and duration of parasitaemia. However, even when parasites could no longer be detected in the blood, packed cell volumes showed little tendency to recover. The anaemia was due to increased intravascular red cell destruction and was more pronounced in the Zebu. Haemodilution was not a feature. Increased red cell synthesis occurred in infected animals of both breeds but particularly in the Zebu; this accounted for the capacity to maintain packed cell volume levels following the initial drop associated with parasitaemia. However, in most cases red cell synthesis was less than expected from the degree of anaemia, suggesting impairment of bone marrow function. Measurement of red cell iron utilization indicated that this was due to defective iron re-utilization from degraded red cells arising from reticulo-endothelial blockade. It is concluded that the anaemia in this disease and its underlying processes are broadly in line with the number of parasites in the blood and that the superior resistance of the Ndama cattle lies in their ability to control parasitaemia rather than their capacity to mount a more efficient erythropoietic response.

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SummaryFourteen 9-month-old zebu calves were immunized with 10000 irradiatedSchistosoma bovisschistosomula given in 1–3 intramuscular or subcutaneous doses, and 4 more calves were immunized with 10000 irradiated cercariae administered percutaneously in a single dose. Eight weeks after the beginning of the experiment these calves, together with four non-immunized controls were challenged percutaneously with 10000 normalS. boviscercariae/calf. Comparative clinical, parasitological, pathological and pathophysiological observations subsequently revealed significant differences between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated calves. The vaccinated calves showed significantly higher growth rates, and a superior body composition as indicated by their lower total body water content. The beneficial effects of vaccination were also shown by significantly lower faecal egg outputs in the vaccinated calves and by their lower tissue egg and adult worm counts. The reduced tissue egg counts were also reflected in the milder histopathological changes seen in the vaccinated calves. The vaccinated calves had significantly higher packed cell and circulating red blood cell volumes than the challenged controls, longer red blood cell half lives, and somewhat lower blood volumes and rates of red blood cell synthesis. No untoward clinical effects that could be attributed to vaccination were recorded. These results indicate that zebu cattle can be effectively protected againstS. bovisby vaccination with irradiated organisms. We are now evaluating this type of vaccine in a field trial in an enzootic area in the Sudan.