A comparison of serum biochemical changes in two breeds of sheep (Red Masai and Dorper) experimentally infected with Fasciola gigantica

Twelve Red Masai and 12 Dorper sheep aged between 6 and 9 months, were acqu ired from a fluke-free area and sheep of each breed divided into two equal groups of six. Each animal in one group of each breed was experimentally in fected with 400 viable metacercariae of Fasciola gigantica. The other group s acted as uninfected controls. Blood samples were taken at weekly interval s for the determination of serum bilirubin, albumin, and gamma glutamyl tra nsferase levels. Following the establishment of infection, albumin levels d eclined in bath breeds of infected animals without any significant differen ce between the two breeds. However, serum bilirubin and gamma glutamyl tran sferase (GGT) in the infected animals were elevated significantly more in t he Dorper than in the Red Masai sheep. Based on these findings, it would ap pear that Dorper sheep are more susceptible to the infection than Red Masai sheep.