Hematological and gill histopathological changes in iridescent shark, Pangasius hypophthalmus (Sauvage, 1878) exposed to sublethal diazinon and deltamethrin concentrations.

The effect of two insecticides, diazinon and deltamethrin, was investigated on hematological parameters and gill morphology in iridescent shark, Pangasius hypophthalmus. Fish were exposed to 0.5 and 1 ppm diazinon as well as 0.015 and 0.020 ppm deltamethrin over a 7-day period. Both insecticides caused leukocytosis, lymphopenia, neutrophilia as well as increases in red blood cell (RBC), hematocrit (Ht), hemoglobin (Hb) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). Morphological gill damages were observed in fish exposed to both pesticides. It is suggested that diazinon and deltamethrin changed immune function and induced gill damages which could be the reason of increase in RBC, Ht, Hb and MCV in iridescent shark.