Prevalence and Age-Related Patterns of Erythrocyte Morphological Abnormalities in Dairy Cows from Tiaret, Algeria

Our study was conducted between January 2025 and May 2025 on local dairy cows raised in the Tiaret region of Algeria. These cows were divided into three age groups: ≤ 3 years, 3 to 6 years, and >6 years. The main objective of this work was to determine the prevalence of all types of morphological abnormalities affecting erythrocytes and to evaluate the effect of age on the prevalence of these abnormalities. A total of 50 blood samples were used to perform a complete blood count and blood smears. This study revealed average values of erythrocyte lineage blood counts within the references cited in the literature and an overall prevalence of morphological abnormalities of erythrocytes in 68% of the cases studied, with a predominance of shape abnormalities (58.82%) and size abnormalities (52.94%). We also observed that young cows aged < 3 years were particularly prone to these anomalies. We also found that the most frequent shape abnormalities were acanthocytes which were present in 50% of all the cows studied. 30% of young cows and 20% of cows aged between 3 to 6 years showed acanthocytes. Dacryocytes, were recorded 30% in all cows, with a very high percentage (25%) in young cows. Anisocytes, which show size anomalies, were present in cows of all age groups. Color abnormalities and inclusion abnormalities were very rarely observed. These results therefore highlight the influence of age on the erythrocyte profile of cows and emphasize the importance of blood monitoring to improve their health and productivity.