1Department of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004, INDIA.
2Department of Veterinary Pathology, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar-263 145, INDIA.
Monocrotophos is an organophosphate insecticide and is used extensively for control of insect pests in agriculture. The residues of this insecticide in plants may be consumed by man and animals leading to immunotoxic effects. To assess the effect of monocrotophos on cell mediated immune response in sheep, 8 lambs, six months old were used in two groups of 4 lambs each. All the lambs were vaccinated with Brucella melitensis rev. 1 at day zero and day 90. One group was given monocarotophos daily orally at dose rate of 0.025 mg/kg body weight for six months. The lymphocyte stimulation test, total leucocytic count and absolute lymphocytic count were performed from blood collected at 10 days interval. Delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction was evaluated at 6 months of observation. A significant suppression in total leucocytic count, absolute lymphocyte count, lymphocyte stimulation and DTH reaction was observed in monocrotophos fed lambs in comparison to control lambs indicating immunosuppressive effect of the pesticide.
Monocrotophos, Cell mediated immune response, Immunosuppression, Sheep
