Effects of different doses of dog-derived Sarcocystis sporocysts on growth rate and haematocrit in lambs

Four-week-old lambs at pasture were dosed with dog-derived Sarcocystis sporocysts. No difference in growth rates was apparent at a dose of 1 X 10(3) sporocysts per lamb. The minimum dose required to depress growth rate was 2.5 X 10(3) sporocysts per lamb: at 4 weeks post-inoculation (w.p.i.) the weight gain of lambs infected with this dose was 0.6 kg less than the non-infected controls (P less than 0.05). At 11 w.p.i. the difference was 0.7 kg, but this was not significant because of the greater average body weights of both groups. Lambs given 5 X 10(3) sporocysts showed significant depression of weight gain at both 4 and 11 w.p.i. Haematocrit levels at 4-5 weeks post-inoculation were depressed by doses as low as 1 X 10(3) sporocysts.