ABSTRACT

The effects of probiotic on experimental infection of Trypanosoma brucei brucei in mongrels were investigated in the study. Twenty (20) adult mongrels of both sexes weighing between 6 to 10 kg were randomly grouped into 5 of 4 members each. GP I was the uninfected and untreated (control), GP II was the uninfected and treated with multi species probiotic (Pet dophillus^®) only, GP III was infected with T. brucei brucei and treated with multi species probiotic only, GP IV was infected with T. brucei brucei and treated with diaminazene aceturate (DA) only and GP V was infected with T. brucei brucei and treated with both multi species probiotic and DA. Groups II, III and V were fed with probiotic for 3 weeks before commencement of experiment which continued till the last day of experiment. The infection was done intraperitonially in GP III, IV and V same day by inoculation of 2.5 × 10⁶ trypanosomes suspended in 1 ml of phosphate buffer saline on day 21 of feeding with probiotic. The DA treatment was on day 5 post infection (PI). Parasetaemia was determined in each infected dog every day, starting from day 2 PI. Rectal temperature, pulse rate and respiratory rate were measured for each dog till termination of the experiment. Blood was collected in two parts with plain and EDTA coated sample bottles to obtain serum and determine haematological parameters, respectively at weekly intervals. The mean pre-patent period of T. brucei brucei in the infected dogs were 4.75 ± 0.25 in GP III, 4.00 ± 0.41 in GP IV and 4.25 ± 0.49 in GP V days. By 3 days post treatment with diaminazene aceturate, parasitaemia decreased from 4.33 ± 0.33 to 3.66 ± 0.33 in GP III, 2.33 ± 0.33 in GP IV and 4.00 ± 0.00 in GP V. By day 5 post treatment, the parasitemia came to 0.00 for GP IV. Clinical signs such as; anorexia, pale ocular mucous membrane, rough hair coat, staggering gait, enlargement of superficial lympnodes and weight loss were observed in GP III, IV and V. A single mortality was recorded in GP IV (infected and treated with DA only) while hundred percent (100%) mortalities occurred in Group III. There was no mortality recorded in GP V. The probiotic treated group showed a fairly constant temperature.The mean PCV of GPV post treatment was significantly (P<0.05) higher than Groups III and GP IV (infected and treated with only DA). There was a significant (P<0.05) increase in TWBCs count of dogs in GP III (infected/treated with only probiotic) post infection and post treatment between 22 – 28 days when compared with the other groups (GP I, II, IV and V), which later decreased significantly (P<0.05) from day 29 – 35 till the last day of the experiment. The mean serum total protein and albumin fairly remain steady throughout the experiment, but there was a significant (P<0.05) increase in the mean serum total protein of dogs in GP III between days 29 – 35 post infection and post treatment till the termination of the experiment. The mean serum activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) increased significantly (P<0.05) in GP III post infection till the termination of the experiment. In conclusion, the multispecies probiotic as applied in this study in the treatment of experimental infection of T brucei brucei did not eliminate the parasites but it enhanced the efficacy of diaminazene aceturate.