Effect of Breed, Age and Sex on Leukocyte Parameters in Healthy Police Dogs in Khartoum state - Sudan

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the normal values of leukocyte parameters for healthy police dogs, in Sudan, and to evaluate the effect of breed, age and sex on this parameters .Forty six dogs of two breeds (20 Labrador retriever and 26 German shepherd ) both sexes(21 males and 25 females) aged between 1-7 year were enrolled in this study at Khartoum state during the year 2017. Five blood ml was collected from the cephalic vein; the blood was collected in a tube containing Ethylenediamine tetra acetic acid–Tri-potassium (EDTA-K3) for leukocyte parameters determination. The whole blood samples were analyzed using BK6100 Auto Hematology Analyzer. A fresh blood was taken to made blood smear to exam the differential count of White blood cells (DWBCs) and Leishman’s stain was used to staining the films. The data was analyzed by student's t-test. The overall mean values of leukocyte parameters were: TWBCs 13.64±4.37 (x109/L), Lymphocytes absolute count 3.40±1.12 (x109/L), Monocyte absolute count 0.961±0.36 (x109/L), Neutrophils absolute count 8.42±2.996 (x109/L), Eosinophils absolute count 0.622±0.26 (x109/L), Basophils absolute count 0.259±0.17 (x109/L) and Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio 2.540±0.591.Significant sex differences were observed for (TWBCs) and Neutrophils Absolute count (P≤0.05) between females and males. Other leukocyte parameters did not show any significant variation to sex, age and breed (P<0.05). Effect of breed, age and sex should be considered in clinical interpretation of dog leukocyte parameters.