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Detection of Blood Parasites and Estimation of Hematological Indices in Fish

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Experimental Protocols in Biotechnology

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Abstract

Hematological parameters serve as excellent tools to monitor health status for diagnosis and prevention of diseases. Techniques in fish hematology are different from those of mammals due to the presence of nucleated erythrocytes in fishes. It is widely accepted that blood analysis will prove to be a valid diagnostic aid to promote aquaculture as it is predicted that by the year 2030, it will be the prime source of food. Popularly, the assessment of fish blood parameters has been performed manually, automatic blood cell count has also been performed in fish, but the techniques are not in much practice. A complete description of the techniques and methods employed for examination of fish blood for the identification of blood parasites and heme indices are described including the methods of blood sampling, isolation and processing of blood parasites, blood film preparation, and estimation of hematological parameters (TEC, TLC, DLC, Hb, PCV, ESR, MCV, MCH, MCHC). Blood collection and processing it for diagnostics need to be reliable, and the methods described herein include only well-tested and well-proven procedures and techniques for the determination of the different hematological parameters/indices.

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Gupta, N., Nigar, S. (2020). Detection of Blood Parasites and Estimation of Hematological Indices in Fish. In: Gupta, N., Gupta, V. (eds) Experimental Protocols in Biotechnology. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0607-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0607-0_4

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