Evaluation of tests for the diagnosis of lead exposure in sheep.

Several laboratory tests that are currently used for the diagnosis of lead poisoning in man were evaluated for the detection of lead poisoning in sheep given 3 or 10 mg Pb/kg body weight/day for 7 weeks. Urinary porphyrins and basophilic stippling of erythrocytes were not sensitive indicators of lead poisoning in sheep, while urinary lead and urinary delta-aminolevulinic acid concentrations were too variable to have diagnostic value. However, erythrocyte delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase was strongly inhibited by exposure to relatively low doses of lead, while blood lead concentrations gave an indication of the level of exposure to lead poisoning.