Trend in Occurrence of Diseases Causing Abnormal Haematological Values In Domestic Animals Based on Haematological Records of Cases In Zaria And Its Environs

Abstract

Haematology could be defined as a branch of medical science that studies the blood and blood-forming tissue and organs, which employ blood cells as principal effectors of the physiologic functions determination (Waugh and Grant, 2001). Blood is a specialized fluid that makes up the greatest percentage of total body fluid that serves as the major route of drugs, nutrients and oxygen transport to the body cells (Guyton and Hall, 2001; Katzung et al., 2009; Sembulingam and Sembulingam, 2010; Saka et al., 2011). It also eliminates waste products away from the cells (Cheeke and Shull, 1999). Hence, it is important for pulmonary and tissue respiration. It is the major medium of endocrine and neurohumoral transmissions, biotransformation, and metabolic excretion, nutritional and immunological processes, as well as homeostatic responses and drug transport (Oze, 1992; Adebayo et. al., 2005; Saka et al., 2011). Disease factors, which have continued to be limiting factors to improved livestock production in tropical Africa are common causes of alterations in haematological values (Useh et al., 2003; Hostetter and Andreasen, 2004; Adamu et al., 2007). Any significant changes in the haemogram could result in anaemia or polycythemia, leucopenia or leukocytosis, and thrombocytopenia or thrombocytosis, as the case may be (Useh et al., 2003; Hostetter and Andreasen, 2004; Adamu et al., 2007). Assessment of haematological parameters is a prerequisite to understanding how the body systems function in health and diseased state (Siros, 1995; Awah and Nottidge, 1998). The parameters include; red blood cell count (RBC), haemoglobin concentration (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), total white blood cell count (WBC), and differential leukocyte count (lymphocytes, neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, and monocytes). Blood is formed essentially in the mesenchyme, endothelium, liver, spleen, thymus and lymph nodes of an embryo; but as bone marrow develops, the formation of the blood cells is transferred to this organ (Coles, 1986). causes of alterations in hematological values such as those of erythrocytes, leucocytes and thrombocytes as well as their developmental forms (Sirois, 1995; Hostetter and Andreasen, 2004). Blood is used as one of the diagnostic vital parameters to detect any physiologic or pathologic disturbances in the body. The recognition of this clinical importance of the blood makes hematological and serum biochemistry analyses essential and routine diagnostic tools in medicine (Bush, 1993; Awah and Nottidge, 1998). Changes in haemogram could have serious clinical implications; often with attendant clinical implications irrespective of the cause. This paper attempts to predict the trend in the occurrence of diseases that cause changes in haematological parameters of animal patients presented to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), Zaria for either routine checkup or with one clinical ailment or the other using clinical pathology laboratory records.

Keywords: low PCV, high PCV, low WBC, high WBC