Diets with Ganoderma lucidum Mushroom Powder and Zinc-Bacitracin on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, Lymphoid Organ Weights and Intestinal Characteristics in Broilers

In order to evaluate the effect of diets with Ganoderma lucidum mushroom powder and zinc-bacitracin on growth performance, carcass traits, lymphoid organ weights, and intestinal characteristics in broilers, a total of 600 one-day-old unsexed broilers from Cobb 500 MV × Cobb 500 FF genotype was analyzed for 28 days, following a completely randomized design with three dietary treatments, five replicates and 40 birds per replicate. The dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet (BD) without additives (T0) and the dietary inclusion of 2.5 g/kg of Ganoderma lucidum (T1) and 350 mg/kg of zinc bacitracin antibiotic (T2). The experimental groups did not change (p>0.05) the performance of the broilers. However, G. lucidum powder increased (p≤0.05) the carcass and breast yields (p≤0.05) and decreased the abdominal fat and liver yields (p≤0.05), although with no notable differences with the antibiotic group for the latter organ (liver) (p>0.05). Both additives (G. lucidum and antibiotic) increased breast meat moisture, protein, and redness; however, these treatments reduced L* (lightness), and the zinc-bacitracin reduced breast yellowness (p≤0.05). Likewise, this medicinal mushroom (G. lucidum) increased the relative weight of bursa of Fabricius and the morphometry of the small intestine (p≤0.05), although with no changes for other immune and digestive organs or for the content of cecal lactic acid bacteria (p>0.05). The dietary inclusion with 2.5 g/kg of Ganoderma lucidum powder is recommended to improve breast yield, protein, and colorimetry without affecting performance and cecal traits of fast-growing broilers.(AU)

Diets with Ganoderma lucidum Mushroom Powder and Zinc-Bacitracin on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits, Lymphoid Organ Weights and Intestinal Characteristics in Broilers

In order to evaluate the effect of diets with Ganoderma lucidum mushroom powder and zinc-bacitracin on growth performance, carcass traits, lymphoid organ weights, and intestinal characteristics in broilers, a total of 600 one-day-old unsexed broilers from Cobb 500 MV × Cobb 500 FF genotype was analyzed for 28 days, following a completely randomized design with three dietary treatments, five replicates and 40 birds per replicate. The dietary treatments consisted of a basal diet (BD) without additives (T0) and the dietary inclusion of 2.5 g/kg of Ganoderma lucidum (T1) and 350 mg/kg of zinc bacitracin antibiotic (T2). The experimental groups did not change (p>0.05) the performance of the broilers. However, G. lucidum powder increased (p≤0.05) the carcass and breast yields (p≤0.05) and decreased the abdominal fat and liver yields (p≤0.05), although with no notable differences with the antibiotic group for the latter organ (liver) (p>0.05). Both additives (G. lucidum and antibiotic) increased breast meat moisture, protein, and redness; however, these treatments reduced L* (lightness), and the zinc-bacitracin reduced breast yellowness (p≤0.05). Likewise, this medicinal mushroom (G. lucidum) increased the relative weight of bursa of Fabricius and the morphometry of the small intestine (p≤0.05), although with no changes for other immune and digestive organs or for the content of cecal lactic acid bacteria (p>0.05). The dietary inclusion with 2.5 g/kg of Ganoderma lucidum powder is recommended to improve breast yield, protein, and colorimetry without affecting performance and cecal traits of fast-growing broilers.

Effect of a Combination of Propionic-Acetic Acid on Body Weight, Relative Weight of Some Organs, Lactic Acid Bacteria and Intestinal pH of Neonatal Broilers

This study was designed to determine the effect of a combination of propionic-acetic acid on body weight, the relative weight of some organs, lactic acid bacteria, and intestinal pH of neonatal broilers. A total of 60 1-day-old Ross 308® broiler chickens were randomly placed in metabolic cages to two treatments, three replicates, and ten birds per replicates. The treatments consisted of a control diet (CD) and CD + 0.03% of propionic acid and acetic acid in the drinking water at a rate of 4 ml/L of water. The combination of organic acids depressed the body weight in neonatal broilers (p 0.05) and increased the relative weight (p 0.05) of gizzard, proventriculus, small intestine, and liver; also acidified the cecum with a significant decrease (p 0.05) of the pH. Also, these organic acids increased (p 0.05) the count of green bacilli with a white halo in the small intestine and decreased (p 0.05) the proliferation of irregular flat green bacilli in the cecum, although for both intestinal portions, the total lactic acid bacteria count was not different (p>0.05) between treatments. The combined use in the diet and drinking water of the propionic and acetic organic acids, respectively, reduced the bodyweight of neonatal broilers (10 days) and the cecal pH, as well as modified the relative weights of some digestive organs and the growth of some morphological groups of lactic acid bacteria.(AU)

Effect of a Combination of Propionic-Acetic Acid on Body Weight, Relative Weight of Some Organs, Lactic Acid Bacteria and Intestinal pH of Neonatal Broilers

This study was designed to determine the effect of a combination of propionic-acetic acid on body weight, the relative weight of some organs, lactic acid bacteria, and intestinal pH of neonatal broilers. A total of 60 1-day-old Ross 308® broiler chickens were randomly placed in metabolic cages to two treatments, three replicates, and ten birds per replicates. The treatments consisted of a control diet (CD) and CD + 0.03% of propionic acid and acetic acid in the drinking water at a rate of 4 ml/L of water. The combination of organic acids depressed the body weight in neonatal broilers (p 0.05) and increased the relative weight (p 0.05) of gizzard, proventriculus, small intestine, and liver; also acidified the cecum with a significant decrease (p 0.05) of the pH. Also, these organic acids increased (p 0.05) the count of green bacilli with a white halo in the small intestine and decreased (p 0.05) the proliferation of irregular flat green bacilli in the cecum, although for both intestinal portions, the total lactic acid bacteria count was not different (p>0.05) between treatments. The combined use in the diet and drinking water of the propionic and acetic organic acids, respectively, reduced the bodyweight of neonatal broilers (10 days) and the cecal pH, as well as modified the relative weights of some digestive organs and the growth of some morphological groups of lactic acid bacteria.

ADITIVO SIMBIÓTICO EM SUBSTITUIÇÃO A BACITRACINA DE ZINCO EM DIETAS PARA AVES POEDEIRAS NA FASE DE RECRIA

O estudo avaliou os efeitos da suplementação do simbiótico a base de Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Glucanos e Mananos em dietas de galinhas poedeiras na fase de recria em substituição a bacitracina de zinco. Utilizou-se 684 frangas da linhagem Dekalb White, das 6a a 10a, 11a a 15a e 6a a 15a semanas de idade, distribuídas em Delineamento Inteiramente Casualizado (DIC) com 5 tratamentos, 8 repetições de 18 aves, exceto, o tratamento RR que teve 6 repetições. Os tratamentos foram compostos de duas dietas bases: a primeira composta por milho e farelo de soja (RR); a segunda semelhante a primeira, com adição de farinha de carne e ossos (FCO); e mais três dietas à base da FCO, uma com adição 0,05% de Bacitracina de Zinco (BacZn) fornecida desde a cria; outra com 0,1% de simbiótico (Simb-C) fornecida desde a cria; e a terceira idem ao Simb-C, porém, fornecida a partir da recria (Simb-R). Foram realizadas avaliação de desempenho, hematologia, bioquímica sérica, peso dos órgãos do sistema imunológico (timo, baço e bursa de fabricius) digestório (fígado, pâncreas e intestino) e mensuração do comprimento (intestino e cecos). Os dados foram analisados pelo SAS, sendo as médias comparadas por Contraste Ortogonal (P0,05). Os contrastes foram C1: RR vs FCO; C2: FCO vs BacZn; C3: BacZn vs Simb-C; C4: BacZn vs Simb-R. As aves submetidas a dieta sem a inclusão de FCO tiveram resultados inferiores (P = 0.008; 0.026; <0.001) em relação a CA durante todo o período analisado. As aves alimentadas com BacZn apresentaram maiores médias para PC (P = 0.012) e GP (P = 0.017) quando comparadas às alimentadas com Simb-R (6 as 10 semanas) e maior GP (P = 0.030) quando comparadas a FCO (6 as 15 semanas), não diferindo (P = 0.551) das aves alimentadas com Simb-C. Para peso e comprimento de órgãos, foi observado efeito (P = 0.012) para peso de Bursa no contraste BacZn vs Simb-R, sendo a maior média para Simb-R. As aves submetidas à dieta FCO obtiveram maiores valores (P = 0.023; 0.033; 0.003) para peso de timo, fígado e comprimento de ceco quando comparadas à BacZn. Os animais submetidos à BacZn apresentaram menor peso de ceco quando comparados aos Simbióticos (P = 0.003; 0.023). Estes resultados são reflexos de uma melhoria na resposta do sistema imune e nos níveis séricos: fosfatase alcalina, GGT, globulina e TGP por meio da modulação da microbiota quando as aves foram submetidas às dietas BacZn e Simbióticos. A utilização do aditivo simbiótico para galinhas poedeiras atingiu seu propósito em substituir o antibiótico bacitracina de zinco como aditivo. Quando utilizado desde a fase de cria, é possível, inclusive, obter melhores resultados para algumas variáveis de Bioquímica Sérica.

The study evaluated the effects of supplementation of symbiotic based on Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, glucans, and mannans in diets of laying hens in the rearing period, replacing zinc bacitracin. A total of 684 pullets (Dekalb White strain), from 6 to 10 (R1), 11 to 15 (R2), and total period (6 to 15) weeks of age were distributed in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments, 8 repetitions of 18 birds, except for the reference treatment, which had 6 repetitions. The treatments were composed of two base diets: the first one was based on corn and soybean meal (RD); the second one was based on corn and soybean meal plus meat and bone meal (MBM); and three other diets based on MBM, added 0.05% of Zinc Bacitracin (BacZn) supplied from R1, 0.1% of symbiotic (Simb-C) supplied from R1, and the last one Simb-C supplied from R2 (Simb-R). It was evaluated the performance, hematology, serum biochemistry, weight of immune system organs (thymus, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius), digestive system (liver, pancreas, and intestine), and length measurement (intestine and cecum). The data were analyzed by variance analysis and the means were compared by Orthogonal Contrast (P < 0.05). The contrasts were: C1 - RD vs MBM; C2 - MBM vs BacZn; C3 - BacZn vs Simb-C; C4: BacZn vs Simb-R. Birds fed RD had lower results (P = 0.008; 0.026; <0.001) for feed conversion throughout the analyzed period. Birds fed BacZn had highest mean for BW (P = 0.012) and WG (P = 0.017) compared to those fed Simb-R (6 to 10 weeks) and higher WG (P = 0.030) compared to MBM (6 to 15 weeks), not differing (P = 0.551) from those fed Simb-C. For organ weights and lengths, the effects (P = 0.012) were observed for Bursa in the C4, with the highest mean for Simb-R. Birds fed the MBM diet obtained higher values (P = 0.023; 0.033; 0.003) for thymus weight, liver, and cecum length compared to BacZn. The animals fed BacZn had lower cecum weight compared to the Simbiotics diest (P = 0.003; 0.023). These results reflect an improvement in the immune system response and serum levels: alkaline phosphatase, GGT, globulin, and TGP through the modulation of the microbiota when the birds were submitted to BacZn and Symbiotic diets. The use of the symbiotic additive for laying hens has achieved its purpose in replacing the antibiotic zinc bacitracin as an additive. When used from the starter phase, it is even possible to obtain better results for some serum biochemistry variables.

Addition of intestinal alkaline phosphatase in diets and its effects on growth performance and intestinal health of weaned piglets challenged with Escherichia coli K88+

In this study, our aim was to assess the additional effect of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) in diets on growth performance, diarrhea occurrence (DO), blood metabolites, intestinal histology, relative organ weights, bacterial population counts, pH of digestive tract content, hepatic glycogen reserve (HGR), histopathological description and proinflammatory markers of piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88+. A total of 64 crossbred piglets, entire male, weaned at 25-days-old with an average initial body weight of 7.168 ± 0.287 kg were allocated to a randomized complete block design consisting of four treatments repeated twice in the two blocks: control diet (negative control), control diet + antimicrobial growth promoter (AGP, 150 g of tiamulin/ton of diet), control diet + 15 mg IAP/kg of diet and control diet + 30 mg IAP/kg of diet, four replications per block with two piglets per experimental unit. All piglets were orally challenged with 6 mL of a solution containing ETEC K88+ (106 CFU/mL). Prior to the beginning of the experimental period, was determined the best microencapsulation process of IAP in a model involving adhesion and phagocytic activity of equine bronchoalveolar macrophage. In Exp. I, the variables analyzed were growth performance, DO, blood metabolites (urea, glucose and alkaline phosphatase), intestinal morphometry, relative organ weight and in vitro simulation of microencapsulated IAP on pH modulation capacity and its dilution in acidic and basic solution. At 19 experimentation days, six animals per treatment were slaughtered for data collection and biological samples. Exp. II involved the evaluation of the effect of IAP on intestinal health by bacterial populations counts in the intestinal content and adhered to mesenteric lymph node, digestive organ content pH, HGR, proinflammatory markers in the liver and intestinal epithelium and histopathological description of the intestinal epithelium. In pre-starter I phase, piglets that received 30 mg IAP added in the diet or control diet showed better feed conversion rate (P = 0.075) compared to those fed 15 mg IAP. Piglets that consumed 30 mg IAP or control diet showed greater (P = 0.004) average daily body weight gain (ADBWG) in the pre-starter II phase. Piglets fed 15 mg IAP had lower average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P = 0.033) compared to piglets with diets containing AGP. At the total period, there was a difference between treatment, in which the piglets fed 15 mg IAP showed a reduction in ADBWG (P = 0.040) and ADFI (P = 0.092). For the pre-starter II phase, there was a difference (P = 0.044) of treatment, in which the piglets that consumed the diet containing 30 mg IAP showed a 24% improvement in DO compared to the treatment with 15 mg IAP. We observed the main effect (P = 0.009), with the addition of 30 mg IAP in the post-challenge phase in decreasing piglet DO (5.56%) when compared to those receiving AGP (16.67%). For the total period, piglets that consumed 15 mg IAP showed greater (P = 0.007) DO when compared to those receiving 30 mg IAP. No differences between treatments were obtained in any of the pre- and post-challenge plasma concentration indicators. The spleen relative weight of piglet increased (P = 0.043) in response to 30 mg IAP treatment. The Enterobacteriaceae counts in the cecum content were lower (P = 0.002) in piglets that receiving 30 mg IAP compared with those for AGP treatment. Piglets fed 30 mg IAP presented lower (P = 0.007) Enterobacteriaceae count in the colon when compared to the other treatments. For the Enterobacteriaceae count adhered to the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), there was an increase (P = 0.006) in piglets fed diets with AGP. Piglets fed the control diet or AGP showed greater (P = 0.000) lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count in the cecum content. There was a treatment effect (P = 0.013) on LAB count in MLN, in which piglets fed with AGP or that received 30 mg IAP had a greater count when compared to those with 15 mg IAP. The experimental treatments did not influence (P > 0.05) the pH of the digestive tract contents, intestinal morphology, TNF-, COX-2 activity, TLR4 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen in the jejunum and liver, nor on HGR. Piglets that received 30 mg IAP showed a slight reduction on TNF- in jejunum (4.17 times) and liver (1.9 times) when compared to piglets in the control group or with AGP, respectively. Based on the present results, the addition of 30 mg IAP in diets improves the growth performance and attenuates the DO in piglets in the post-weaning period. In addition, the results suggest that the addition of 30 mg IAP provides an ability to mitigate intestinal injuries and maintain the homeostasis of the intestinal physiology of piglets.

In this study, our aim was to assess the additional effect of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) in diets on growth performance, diarrhea occurrence (DO), blood metabolites, intestinal histology, relative organ weights, bacterial population counts, pH of digestive tract content, hepatic glycogen reserve (HGR), histopathological description and proinflammatory markers of piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88+. A total of 64 crossbred piglets, entire male, weaned at 25-days-old with an average initial body weight of 7.168 ± 0.287 kg were allocated to a randomized complete block design consisting of four treatments repeated twice in the two blocks: control diet (negative control), control diet + antimicrobial growth promoter (AGP, 150 g of tiamulin/ton of diet), control diet + 15 mg IAP/kg of diet and control diet + 30 mg IAP/kg of diet, four replications per block with two piglets per experimental unit. All piglets were orally challenged with 6 mL of a solution containing ETEC K88+ (106 CFU/mL). Prior to the beginning of the experimental period, was determined the best microencapsulation process of IAP in a model involving adhesion and phagocytic activity of equine bronchoalveolar macrophage. In Exp. I, the variables analyzed were growth performance, DO, blood metabolites (urea, glucose and alkaline phosphatase), intestinal morphometry, relative organ weight and in vitro simulation of microencapsulated IAP on pH modulation capacity and its dilution in acidic and basic solution. At 19 experimentation days, six animals per treatment were slaughtered for data collection and biological samples. Exp. II involved the evaluation of the effect of IAP on intestinal health by bacterial populations counts in the intestinal content and adhered to mesenteric lymph node, digestive organ content pH, HGR, proinflammatory markers in the liver and intestinal epithelium and histopathological description of the intestinal epithelium. In pre-starter I phase, piglets that received 30 mg IAP added in the diet or control diet showed better feed conversion rate (P = 0.075) compared to those fed 15 mg IAP. Piglets that consumed 30 mg IAP or control diet showed greater (P = 0.004) average daily body weight gain (ADBWG) in the pre-starter II phase. Piglets fed 15 mg IAP had lower average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P = 0.033) compared to piglets with diets containing AGP. At the total period, there was a difference between treatment, in which the piglets fed 15 mg IAP showed a reduction in ADBWG (P = 0.040) and ADFI (P = 0.092). For the pre-starter II phase, there was a difference (P = 0.044) of treatment, in which the piglets that consumed the diet containing 30 mg IAP showed a 24% improvement in DO compared to the treatment with 15 mg IAP. We observed the main effect (P = 0.009), with the addition of 30 mg IAP in the post-challenge phase in decreasing piglet DO (5.56%) when compared to those receiving AGP (16.67%). For the total period, piglets that consumed 15 mg IAP showed greater (P = 0.007) DO when compared to those receiving 30 mg IAP. No differences between treatments were obtained in any of the pre- and post-challenge plasma concentration indicators. The spleen relative weight of piglet increased (P = 0.043) in response to 30 mg IAP treatment. The Enterobacteriaceae counts in the cecum content were lower (P = 0.002) in piglets that receiving 30 mg IAP compared with those for AGP treatment. Piglets fed 30 mg IAP presented lower (P = 0.007) Enterobacteriaceae count in the colon when compared to the other treatments. For the Enterobacteriaceae count adhered to the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), there was an increase (P = 0.006) in piglets fed diets with AGP. Piglets fed the control diet or AGP showed greater (P = 0.000) lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count in the cecum content. There was a treatment effect (P = 0.013) on LAB count in MLN, in which piglets fed with AGP or that received 30 mg IAP had a greater count when compared to those with 15 mg IAP. The experimental treatments did not influence (P > 0.05) the pH of the digestive tract contents, intestinal morphology, TNF-, COX-2 activity, TLR4 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen in the jejunum and liver, nor on HGR. Piglets that received 30 mg IAP showed a slight reduction on TNF- in jejunum (4.17 times) and liver (1.9 times) when compared to piglets in the control group or with AGP, respectively. Based on the present results, the addition of 30 mg IAP in diets improves the growth performance and attenuates the DO in piglets in the post-weaning period. In addition, the results suggest that the addition of 30 mg IAP provides an ability to mitigate intestinal injuries and maintain the homeostasis of the intestinal physiology of piglets.

Aspectos da infecção por Schistosoma mansoni (Sambon, 1907) em ovinos da raça Santa Inês

A esquistossomose mansoni é causada pelo trematoda Schistosoma mansoni, sendo impactante na saúde pública de vários países, principalmente subdesenvolvidos ou em desenvolvimento. Muito se pesquisa sobre a infecção em seres humanos, porém, são escassos os estudos sobre a susceptibilidade dos animais domésticos à infecção, como os ovinos, sendo que no Brasil, há aumento gradual da criação desses animais, como a raça Santa Inês, devido a sua produtividade e rusticidade, sendo a raça deslanada muito criada no nordeste brasileiro. O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar aspectos da susceptibilidade em ovinos da raça Santa Inês à infecção por S. mansoni, assim como fatores clínicos, hematológicos, parasitológicos e patológicos no período de 0 a 255 dias. Os ovinos do presente estudo foram segmentados em dois grupos com 5 animais livres da infecção (Controle) e 5 infectados por via cutânea com 2.000 cercárias de S. mansoni (Infectado). A avaliação clínica foi realizada para acompanhar variáveis como peso e escore corporal, além do sistema cardiovascular, respiratório, digestório e análise de coloração de mucosa da conjuntiva ocular. Foram coletadas amostras sanguíneas para realização do perfil hematológico e cinética de anticorpos IgG. Para analisar os parâmetros parasitológicos, no diagnóstico foram realizados exames de fezes pelo método de sedimentação espontânea e pelo método de quatro tamises modificada, assim como métodos de eclosão de miracídios, curetagem de mucosa retal e detecção de antígeno pelo teste rápido de urina. Os ovinos foram sacrificados em dois intervalos: aos 135 dpi e aos 255 dpi, sendo os órgãos avaliados. Além disso, foi preconizada a perfusão das vísceras para recuperação de parasitos nos vasos mesentéricos e espaço porta e a recuperação de ovos nos tecidos. Como resultado, na avaliação clínica, houve perda de peso no grupo Infectado de 15 aos 75 dpi com ganho compensatório, mas não o suficiente para igualar ao Controle, além de fezes amorfas. À análise hematológica, foram constatados índices menores nas variáveis de células vermelhas e aumento na contagem total de leucócitos e diferencial de neutrófilos na fase aguda, assim como aumento na contagem diferencial de eosinófilos do sangue periférico de 75 aos 195 dpi. A cinética de IgG mostrou-se alta a reatividade no grupo Infectado, o que evidencia uma resposta imune humoral mais intensa na fase aguda pós postural ao comparar-se as duas titulações, concomitante com os achados clínicos e hematológicos, podendo ser utilizada como ferramenta para imunodiagnóstico da esquistossomose mansoni em ovinos. Quanto aos parâmetros parasitológicos, no diagnóstico foram obtidos os seguintes resultados: (i) não foram observados ovos ou miracídios nas amostras dos ovinos da raça Santa Inês infectados, entretanto, (ii) a técnica de Girão e Ueno (1982) foi validada para o diagnóstico da infecção por S. mansoni em hospedeiros ruminantes, (iii) a curetagem de mucosa retal foi capaz de detectar a infecção nos ovinos e (iv) o teste rápido de urina acusou detecção de antígenos, mas com traço leve, devendo ser aprimorada. Nos aspectos post mortem, na patologia dos ovinos da raça Santa Inês infectados foram observadas no fígado e pulmão: (i) pouca frequência de granulomas típicos formados em torno de ovos de S. mansoni e (ii) frequente lesões focais, esparsas, nodulares, formadas por granulomas extensos, contendo material amorfo envolto de exsudato de células inflamatórias e graus variáveis de neoformação conjuntivo vascular. Na recuperação de parasitos nos vasos mesentéricos e espaço porta, houve heterogeneidade entre os ovinos com variações de 0,45 a 5,45%. Além disso, os espécimes de S. mansoni mostraram-se menores em tamanho se comparados aos obtidos na infecção humana e em bovinos. Dessa forma, conclui-se que ovinos da raça Santa Inês não apresentam importância epidemiológica na transmissão de S. mansoni, uma vez que não eliminam ovos nas fezes. Entretanto, esses animais são susceptíveis a infecção, visto que há desenvolvimento parasitário e oviposição das fêmeas, além de sintomas clínicos, variações hematológicas, imunológicas e lesões em órgãos como fígado e pulmão consequente ao parasitismo, levando a perdas na produtividade devido à infecção. Palavras chave: Schistosoma mansoni, Ovinos, Susceptibilidade.

he schistosomiasis is caused by trematode Schistosoma mansoni and is impactful on public health in many countries, particularly underdeveloped or under development countries. There are many researches regarding the infection in humans, however, there are only a few studies about the susceptibility of cattle to infection, such as in sheep. In Brazil, there is a gradual increase in the creation of these animals, such as Santa Ines breeds, due to its productivity and rusticity; without wool breeds is very established at the Brazilian northeast. The goal of this study is to evaluate aspects of susceptibility in Santa Inês sheep breeds to infection with S. mansoni, as well as clinical, haematological, parasitological and pathological in the period 0-255 days. The sheeps of this study were segmented into two groups of 05 animals free from infection (Control) and 05 dermally infected with 2,000 of S. mansoni cercariae (Infected). Clinical evaluation were performed to monitor variables such as weight and body condition score, in addition to the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive system and mucosal staining analysis of the ocular conjunctive. Blood samples were collected to perform the hematological profile and kinetic profile of IgG antibodies. To analyze the parasitological parameters, diagnosis were performed through examinations by spontaneous sedimentation method and the four modified sieves method, as well as miracidia hatching methods, rectal mucosal curettage and antigen detection by rapid urine test. The sheeps were sacrificed at two intervals: the 135 dpi and 255 dpi. Body organs were examined. Moreover, it was preconized the perfusion of the viscera for parasite recovery vessels in the mesenteric and portal space and eggs in the tissues were recovered. As a result, on the clinical evaluation, there was loss of weight in the infected group of 15 to 75 dpi with compensatory growth, but not enough to match the control, as well as amorphous faeces. On the hematological analysis, lower levels in the red blood cells and variable increase in the total white blood count were found as well as differential of neutrophils in acute phase and an increase in the differential count of peripheral eosinophils cells of 75 to 195 dpi. The IgG kinetics showed high reactivity in the infected group, which shows a stronger humoral immune response in post postural acute when comparing the two titrations, concomitant with clinical and hematological findings. This can be used as a tool to immunodiagnostics of schistosomiasis in sheep. Regarding the parasitological parameters, the following results were obtained on diagnosis: (i) eggs or miracidia were observed in infected samples of breed sheep Santa Inês, however, (ii) Girão and Ueno (1982) technique have been validated for diagnosis of S. mansoni infection in ruminants hosts, (iii) rectal mucosas curettage were able to detect infection in sheep and (iv) the rapid test urine detected antigens, but slight traces that should be improved. In post mortem aspects, the pathology of the Santa Inês sheep infected was observed in the liver and the lung: (i) low frequency of typical granulomas formed around S. mansoni eggs and (ii) frequently focal, scattered, and nodular lesions, formed by extensive granulomas containing amorphous material wrapped in exudate inflammatory cells besides varying degrees of vascular connective neoformation. In recovered parasites at the mesenteric and portal vessels space, there was heterogeneity among the sheep with variations from 0.45 to 5.45%. Furthermore, the specimens of S. mansoni were smaller compared to those obtained in human and cattle infections. Thus, it is conclusive that breed sheep Santa Inês have no epidemiological importance in the transmission of S. mansoni since it does not eliminate eggs in faeces. However, these animals are susceptible to infection because there is parasitic development and female oviposition as well as clinical symptoms, hematologic and immunologic changes besides organ lesions at the liver and lungs consequent to the parasitism leading to losses in productivity due to infection.