Association of the Trace Mineral Profile of Soil, Forages and Blood with the Gastrointestinal Helminthiasis in Grazing Sheep of District Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Sheep production in Pakistan has an imperative socio-economic impact on the small holder rural farmers. Gastro-intestinal (GI) parasitic infections in sheep cause a substantial loss in terms of productivity and constitute serious economic losses in the world. In parasitized sheep, reductions in immunity to fight against endo-parasites might be attributable to mineral deficiencies. Trace elements including Copper (Cu), Cobalt (Co), Manganese (Mn) and Zinc (Zn) were determined in (a) sera of sheep, (b) preferred flora and (c) respective soil samples of district Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan during Autumn 2014 and Spring, 2015. Associative analysis was made between the serum concentrations of the study elements and quantitative worm burden. To this end, a total of 384 grazing sheep were randomly selected for collection of blood and faecal samples as per the standard protocols. An appropriate number of plants/ forages and soil samples were also collected. The sera, plant and soil samples were subjected to pre-treatment (digestion) required for the determination of trace element profile through atomic absorption spectrophotometery. Overall prevalence of GI parasites was 32.55% and 32.81% in district Sialkot during Autumn and Spring, respectively. Variable age and breed showed non-significant results while, sex was found significant during both seasons. Concentration of selected trace elements was significantly (P > 0.05) varied in analyzed forages; however, mean concentration of only Cu in forages collected from different tehsils varied significantly (P < 0.05) during Spring. A non-significant (P > 0.05) variation among soil trace elements was found in different tehsils of Sialkot district during both seasons. Concentration of all selected trace elements except Co in serum showed significant (P < 0.05) results among tehsils of district Sialkot during Spring while, only Zn in serum showed significant (P < 0.05) results during Autumn. Mean concentrations of Zn, Co and Cu during Autumn and Zn and Cu during Spring in serum was found inversely proportional to the mean egg per gram of sheep in all the three tehsils of Sialkot district. Forages containing high concentrations of Zn and Cu can be used effectively against GI parasites. Grazing of animals in rangelands containing trace elements rich forages increase the resilience against parasitic infections particularly in resource poor countries like Pakistan.