Medicinal leeches ( Hirudo medicinalis) from the family Hirudinidae are a potentially promising alternative because they are commercially available, not easily disturbed by the host animals, feed at much wider range of temperatures, and can yield much larger blood volumes. Moreover, only a limited number of hematological and biochemical parameters can reliably be measured in their blood meal ( 2, 10). Other shortcomings include a narrow range of environmental temperatures acceptable for feeding and a relatively small blood volume that can be collected. Another drawback is that they are nocturnal feeders and, hence, are highly sensitive to disturbance during feeding and usually only parasitise on motionless animals, ideally during the night. However, kissing bugs are not commercially available and their breeding and maintenance are rather difficult. Blood samples obtained by this method were used for measuring hormone levels, collecting genetic material, sexing, monitoring infectious diseases and measuring hematological and biochemical parameters ( 2, 6– 10).
Dipetalogaster maxima was the most common kissing bug species used due to its large size and therefore its capacity for extracting up to 1 ml of blood.
The applicability of kissing bugs-blood-sucking insects from the hemipteran subfamily Triatominae-for non-invasive blood sampling has previously been described ( 2, 6– 11). Therefore, non-invasive blood sampling is a promising tool for blood sample collection with a potential to substantially improve animal welfare in zoos, conservation programmes, and ecophysiological research in animal populations ( 1– 5).
#Leech blood manual
Manual restraint is possible in some species, but it carries a high risk of injuries and intense stress for sampled animals. However, blood sampling is a challenging clinical procedure in such conditions, with anesthesia needed in most cases. Veterinary health assessment of animals in zoological collections or in semi-wild and wild conditions requires collection of blood samples for variety of qualitative and quantitative analyses, such as hematological, biochemical, genetic and endocrinological profiling, or screening of pathogenes causing infectious diseases. This opens new opportunities for a significant improvement to animal welfare in zoological gardens, conservation programmes, and ecophysiological research, where quantification of blood parameters is often needed. Our data thus suggest that medicinal leeches can be used as a reliable non-invasive and stress-reducing alternative to standard venipuncture, even for quantitative assays. As the parameter alterations and correlations were similar among species, simple cross-species regression formulas were sufficient to correct the alterations, thereby ensuring good repeatability between leeches and venipuncture in most parameters. Although most hematological and biochemical parameters were significantly altered in leech-derived samples, their values showed strong ( r = 0.62–0.79 10/24 parameters) to very strong ( r > 0.8 13/24 parameters) correlations with venipuncture in all blood parameters, except for sodium ( r = 0.39). The leeches drew up to 20 ml of blood in 20 to 55 min. Medicinal leeches were manually applied on 67 zoo animals of eleven species, and control blood samples were obtained by venipuncture of the jugular vein. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of the leech blood sampling method for quantification of hematological and biochemical parameters. Blood sampling using medicinal leeches ( Hirudo medicinalis) represents a promising non-invasive alternative to venipuncture however, leech blood meal was to date used only for qualitative analyses such as genetic or serological screenings.
Although manual restraint or anesthesia are usually possible, they entail intense stress and a high risk of injuries or organ failure. 5Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Poultry, Birds, Small Mammals and Reptiles, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Sloveniaīlood sampling is a challenging procedure in many captive animals.4Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia.3Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Science, Brno, Czechia.2Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czechia.Pavel Kvapil 1,2 *, Oldřich Tomášek 3,4 *, Eva Bártová 2, Mojca Harej 1, Marjan Kastelic 1, Tit Primožič 1, Nikola Kašpárková 2 and Jožko Račnik 5
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