Studies on the pathogenicity of Ancylostoma ceylanicum. I. Blood loss in experimental dogs

Blood loss caused by A. ceylancium was determined in 13 dogs using 51Cr-labelled red cells. Blood loss was first detected in the faeces on the 10th to 13th day after cutaneous and 8th to 16th day after oral infection respectively. The mean blood loss was found to be 0.033 ml/worm/day and 0.038 ml/worm/day in these 2 groups of dogs respectively. There was a direct relationship between the number of worm and the amount of blood loss. The blood loss expressed as ml per worm per day showed a reverse relationship with the number of worms recovered. Considering a large amount of blood loss and the decrease in haematological values in these dogs, A. ceylanicum should be considered as one of the hookworm species of medical importance.