Vitamin B12 and iron in the plasma of hamster infected with the intestinal parasite Prohemistomum vivax

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of infection of hamsters with Prohemistomum vivax. Twelve animals were divided into two groups each of six animals, control and infected groups. Animals of the infected group were orally infected weekly with 100 ±5 cysts of metacercariae. After one month, the serum levels of vitamin B12 and iron were measured by using radioimmunoassay. The results showed no significant change in the level of vitamin B12, whereas, a significant decrease was observed in the level of iron (P 0.01) in the plasma of the infected animals compared with the control group. This result suggested that a malabsorption condition occurred probably due to complex interactions between host and the used parasite (trematode).