Comparative serum biochemical changes induced by experimental infection of T. brucei and T. congolense in pigs.

A comparative evaluation of the serum biochemical parameters was carried out in groups of young pigs aged 3-5 months experimentally infected with single infection of Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma congolense, and a mixed infection of the two species. All the parameters studied (alanine amino transferase, aspartate amino transferase, albumin, globulin, cholesterol and creatinine) with the exception of total protein and urea varied significantly (p<0.05) between the infected groups and uninfected control group. Serum concentrations of alanine amino transferase, aspartate amino transferase, creatinine and globulin were increased whereas albumin and cholesterol decreased, except for the T. congolense group that had similar cholesterol levels as the control group. There was no significant variation (p>0.05) in the parameters within the infected groups except that creatinine was elevated in the T. brucei group. Administration of diminazene aceturate by day 42 PI restored alanine amino transferase, aspartate amino transferase and albumin to normal values unlike the other parameters. It was thus concluded that trypanosome infection in pigs could lead to some significant alterations in the serum biochemical values and that this was neither influenced by individual parasite species nor their mixed infection.