The influence of sex, age and season on the haematological profile of alpacas (Vicugna pacos) in Central Europe

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The aim of this study was to establish reference intervals for the haematological profile of alpacas on the basis of a large population of clinically healthy animals, and to determine the influence of sex, age and season on these indicators. Blood samples were collected from 243 alpacas (53 males and 156 females over six months of age and 34 crias -12 males and 22 females -under six months of age). The selected farms were located in Central Europe (Czech Republic and Germany). We determined 13 haematological indicators. Comparison of the results was performed with respect to the sex of animals and for the older group also with regard to the season and to the feeding period. We found no highly significant (P > 0.001) differences between males and females. We did find highly significant differences (P < 0.001) between the group of crias under six months of age and the older alpacas (mean corpuscular volume -MCV, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration -MCHC, red cell distribution width -RDW, white blood cell count -WBC, neutrophil count). Based on our findings we suggest that for some indicators different reference intervals (esp. WBC and differential cell counts) be used for the two above mentioned age groups. We found some highly significant differences (P < 0.001) in haematological indicators in the older group of alpacas between the summer and winter feeding period (haemoglobin concentration, MCHC). Clinical laboratory diagnosis may be improved by the use of age-based and season-based haematological reference values.

Values of apoptosis of lymphocytes and granulocytes in peripheral blood of Polish mixed-breed rabbits in the annual cycle

“…In the case of the quantity of immune system cells -lymphocytes, granulocytes and monocytes (Zapata et al 2003) -the same study indicated that the season only slightly affects the quantity of such cells, and the impact was not statistically significant. Very similar results to the results obtained for guanaco (Zapata et al 2003) in respect of the quantity of lymphocytes, granulocytes and monocytes were obtained for mammals from the camelid family -alpaca (Husakova et al 2015), where a slight impact of the season was also observed in respect of the quantity of such cells.…”

“…2009) and activity (Nowaczyk et al 2005 of lymphocytes and granulocytes, and the quantity of monocytes (Jacobson et al 1978, Nowczyk et al 2005, Cetin et al 2009) in peripheral blood, and thus these cells are subject to apoptosis. Such an interdependency was also observed in farm animals (cattle), where the impact of the season was recorded in respect of immune system cells (Deptuła et al 1992, Deptuła andDorynek 1993) and their activity (Deptuła et al 1992, Deptuła andDorynek 1993) in phagocytosis, and in the quantity of serum immunoglobulins and total protein; a slight seasonal impact was also reported in respect of the quantity of lymphocytes, granulocytes and monocytes in biungulates from the camelid family, including alpaca (Husakova at al. 2015) and guanaco (Zapata et al 2003) and, in the case of the latter, also in respect of total protein volume (Zapata et al 2003).…”

“…2003, Cetin et al 2009), haematological factors (Jacobson et al 1978, Deptuła et al 1992, Deptuła and Dorynek 1993, Zapata et al 2003, Nowaczyk et al 2005, Cetin and al. 2009, Dopico et al 2015, Husakova et al 2015 and immunological factors (Deptuła et al 1992, Nowaczyk et al 2005, Dopico et al 2015, including immune system cells (Deptuła et al 1992, Nowczyk et al 2005, Casanova-Acebes 2013, De Jong et al 2014, Dopico et al 2015, the number of which is conditioned by programmed death -apoptosis.…”

“…The image obtained of the impact of the seasons on the quantity of lymphocytes, granulocytes and monocytes, and immunological activity of peripheral blood granulocytes and lymphocytes in rabbits (Jacobson et al 1978, Nowczyk et al 2005, Cetin et al 2009, farm animals (Deptuła et al 1992, Deptuła andDorynek 1993) and biungulate mammals from the camelid family (Zapata et al 2003, Husakova et al 2015, was also confirmed in humans, where impact of the season has found on the quantity of lymphocytes, monocytes, platelets, and erythrocytes (Dopico et al 2015), and on genes conditioning synthesis of IL-6 and acute-phase proteins (CRP) (Dopico et al 2015). Such observations were confirmed by De Jong et al (2014) in humans; their study showed that the seasons also affect gene expression, conditioning the quantity of granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes in peripheral blood.…”

Relationships between Body Condition Score (BCS), FAMACHA©-Score and Haematological Parameters in Alpacas (Vicugna pacos), and Llamas (Lama glama) Presented at the Veterinary Clinic

“…In the animals in our study, no differences in PCV were found with respect to age or gender. However, other authors showed that male SAC usually have higher PCV than females [ 54 , 55 ]. This could be due to the fact that our study did not investigate homogeneous groups, but rather data from animals with different pathological conditions.…”