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Anaemia in Housed Lambs: Effects of Oral Iron on Clinical Pathology and Performance

Anemi hos unge lam: effekt av en enkelt dose jern gitt oralt

Abstract

An experiment including 39 pairs of housed twin lambs was performed to evaluate the effect of an oral iron supplement (Fe-MAX® Starter) on clinical pathology, growth rates and disease occurrence. Significant differences between the iron supplemented group (Fe-group) and the controls were seen, for varying periods of time, for all red blood cell and iron parameters examined. In spite of this, 25% of the iron supplemented lambs had haemoglobin values below 80 g/L 4 weeks after treatment, whereas 33% of the controls had corresponding values 3 weeks after treatment, indicating that one single iron dose was insufficient to prevent iron deficiency anaemia. No significant positive effect on live weights was seen. However, the Fe-group had a poorer daily weight gain during the first week after dosing (p<0.01), but a better daily gain during the second (p<0.01) and third weeks. No effects were seen on disease occurrence. An additional trial with iron dextran injections to 5 untreated 21 days old lambs with varying haemoglobin values, revealed a rapid increase in the red cell distribution in anaemic lambs, with production of macrocytic, mainly normochromic erythrocytes. The new erythrocyte population was visible on the cytogram after 2 to 3 days and on the histogram after 5 days.

Sammendrag

Et forsøk med peroral jerndosering til lam som ble holdt innendørs ble utført for å vurdere effekten på hematologi, tilvekst og sjukdomsforekomst. Studien inkluderte 39 tvillingpar, der ett lam fikk aminosyrechelatert-jern (Fe-MAX® Starter) og det andre fikk placebo. Signifikante forskjeller ble registrert i alle undersøkte parametre for hematologi og jern, over varierende tidsintervall. Til tross for dosering med jern hadde 25% av disse lamma hemoglobin verdier under 80 g/L, mens tilsvarende andel av kontrollene var 33%. Dette indikerte at dosen var utilstrekkelig. En signifikant (p<0,01) dårligere daglig tilvekst ble sett i den jernbehandla gruppa første uka etter dosering, mens denne gruppa viste økt daglig tilvekst andre (p<0,01) og tredje uka etter dosering. Det var ingen signifikante effekter på levende vekter eller sjukdomsforekomst. Et tilleggsforsøk med jerninjeksjoner til fem 21 dager garnie lam med forskjellige hemoglobinverdier, viste en rask økning i erytrocyttsprednings-kurven (RDW). Produksjon av nye makrocyttære, røde blodlegemer var synlig på cytogrammet etter 2 til 3 dager og på histogrammet etter 5 dager.

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Vatn, S., Framstad, T. Anaemia in Housed Lambs: Effects of Oral Iron on Clinical Pathology and Performance. Acta Vet Scand 41, 273–281 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03549636

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