| Eight five-month-old male lambs received a diet with marginal levels of sodium (0.5 g Na/kg DM); four lambs were given a single dose of infective Haemonchus contortus larvae (4,600 L3/ head) and four were kept uninfected. The lambs were slaughtered 30 days after the infection. Sodium concentration was determined in the abomasal fluid at the slaughter. The balance between intake and faecal excretion of sodium was evaluated. Saliva was collected at days zero, 20 and 30 to determine the Na:K ratio. The mean total worm burden retrieved was 1390. The infection increased abomasal sodium concentration (p< 0.001) and reduced faecal sodium excretion (p<0.02), but there was not a significant relationship between worm burden and abomasal (p >0.082) or faecal... |
