HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA DUE TO EXPERIMENTAL ONION POISONING IN IRANIAN GHEZEL SHEEP

This study was conducted on 10 male Iranian Ghezel sheep. To ensure the health of livestock and deworming treatment, sheep were kept without any intervention and on a normal and high quality diet for a month. Then onion was added to the animal's diet gradually, and after a week sheep were fed only with onions. Animals were fed with onions for 10 weeks, regular and weekly blood sampling was done during this period. Clinical findings included anemia, paleness of mucus membranes, tachycardia, weakness, lethargy and death in some cases. Red blood cell counts, hemoglobin and hematocrit decreased from week 1, reaching to a significant low on week 3 (p<0.01). The Heinz body counts were increased dramatically from week 1 peaking on week 5 (p<0.001). A slight increase in hematological indices occurred after week 8; however 2 sheep died due to severe anemia. Results from this study indicated that feeding sheep with excess onions should be done cautiously to minimize the harmful effects caused by hemolytic anemia.