Parasitic infections in general and helminth infections in particular may potentially reduce the quality and quantity of yield in aquaculture industry. Considering the significant role of various blood components in the diagnosis of diseases, we collected blood sample from the Trichogaster fasciatus fish infected with excysted progenetic metacercariae of Clinostomum complanatum. A number of blood parameters were analysed and compared with non-infected blood sample of the fish under study.

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... the haematological parameters provide a valuable tool for monitoring the fish health, the present findings may be exploited as a pilot study to understand the fish health and disease condition. In the present study, we observed significant reduction in the level of blood parameters such as RBC, Hb concentration, HCT, MCV, MCH, PLT, MPV, PDW and RDW in the infected fish as compared to the non-infected fish. It is suggested that the level of infection can elicit a stress response in the host which can be correlated with changes in the haematological parameters and may be helpful in detecting diseases and serious illness conditions in the infected fishes.