An analysis of blood counts was performed on specimens of the European blind cave salamander (Proteus anguinus anguinus Laurenti 1768) captured from the Postojna cave and held in captivity for varying lengths of time. Three animals had disease symptoms when captured in the wild (edema or malnourished due to endoparasites), four developed disease symptoms in captivity (edema, fungal and ectoparasitic infections), and amoebae were found in the blood of three wild animals. We performed hemocytometry on fresh blood samples and measured hematocrits (Hct). We analyzed the differential blood counts by determining the total red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), and thrombocytes in blood smears. The concentration of RBCs per milliliter and the Hct were within the range known for urodeles. Low Hct was found in individual with acute ectoparasitic infection. The blood counts of the asymptomatic animals did not change significantly in captivity, and the neutrophil to lymphocyte (N/L) ratio remained low, indicating that the animals were not stressed in captivity. Blood counts of symptomatic animals were highly variable and differed from asymptomatic animals primarly in the varying proportion of eosinophils, which were elevated in the case of endoparasites or amoebic infection. In some animals with endoparasitic infection we noted a decrease in lymphocytes and an increase in neutrophils, and in one case (an animal with edema) also a marked increase in monocytes. In contrast, neutropenia and associated extremly low N/L ratios were noted in some animals with endoparasites and ectoparasitic infections. Differential blood counts of animals with the same symptoms or infection were highly diverse. Thus, they are not a reliable indicator of infection, nor is the animals’ response characteristic of the type of infection.
|
