Hematology, Biochemistry, and Protein Electrophoresis Reference Intervals of Western European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) from a Rehabilitation Center in Northern Portugal

Abstract

The Western European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) can work as a bioindicator of environmental pollution and be a host for multiple zoonotic agents, making it relevant in terms of One Health studies. It is essential to deepen the knowledge on this species and calculate reference intervals (RIs) for the usual hematological and biochemical parameters. For this retrospective study (2017–2022), the archives of the Clinical Pathology Laboratory (LPC) of University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD) Veterinary Teaching Hospital were analyzed. Data of hematology, clinical biochemistry, and protein electrophoresis from 37 healthy hedgehogs of the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center at UTAD, Northern Portugal, were included. It was possible to calculate RIs for almost all of the variables in the study, using Reference Value Advisor V2.1. Moreover, sex and age effects were investigated: alkaline phosphatase (p = 0.012, higher in males); total proteins (p = 0.034, higher in adults); mean cell volume (p = 0.007) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (p = 0.010) (both higher in juveniles); and red blood cell distribution width (p = 0.021, higher in adults). Our study allowed for the first time to define RIs for a population of hedgehogs in Portugal, having a potentially relevant impact on species conservation and in the human–animal health interface.