Veterinary Archives, Vol. 87 No. 4, 2017.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.24099/vet.arhiv.160314
Establishing reference intervals for haematological and biochemical blood variables in Lika pramenka sheep
Ana Shek Vugrovečki
; Department of Physiology and Radiobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Aleksandar Vojta
; Division of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Miljenko Šimpraga
; Department of Physiology and Radiobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Haematological and blood biochemical variables are key elements for routine assessment of animal health status, with implications in animal production and food safety. However, only reliable reference intervals of haematological and biochemical blood variables can provide the basis for accurate interpretation of the obtained blood results. Haematological and biochemical blood values critically dependent on living conditions, region, husbandry, rearing location, and diet. The aim of this study was to determine the reference intervals for selected important and informative haematological and blood biochemical variables for females of the Croatian indigenous sheep breed, Lika pramenka. We used several advanced statistical methods and assessed their applicability for determination of relevant reference intervals under conditions specific to indigenous sheep breeding. The results show that the reference intervals from the available literature are orientational but not adequate for the specific challenges encountered in raising indigenous breeds in their natural habitat. This was illustrated by the large number of clinically healthy animals with blood variable values falling outside the reference intervals given in the sources available previously.
Keywords
indigenous breeds; reference interval; haematology; biochemical variables
Hrčak ID:
185645
URI
Publication date:
3.7.2017.
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