Sudden - toxicology Flashcards
List some of the frequently envountered toxins of livestock.
- Plants
- Nitrate poisoning
- Cyanide poisoning
- Urea poisoning
- Lead poisoning
How could ruminants get nitrate posoning? What are some of the clinical signs?
- Risk with some plants and fertiliser contamination of water tanks, holding yards, overuse of fertiliser
- Only an issue in ruminants - convert nitrate to nitrite. If nitrite builds up in the rumen it converts the ion in haemoglobin from 2+ to 3+ - cant carry oxygen
- Clinical signs: Rapid breathing (due to lack of oxygen), tachycardia, brown MM
How might cyanide poisoning occur?
Ingested regrowth of soughum crop is a poison risk
How might urea poisoning occur?
problem in intensive industries due to poor effluent disposal. High urea plasma levels result neurological signs including convulsions
How might lead poisoning occur?
animals licking old car batteries – lead intoxication leads to non‐specific GUT signs and neurological signs
What do pyrrolizidine alkaloids cause in horses, sheep and cattle?
Liver damage - causes chronic liver disease
What is oleander (nerium oleander) high in?
- Cardiac glycosides
- can oversensitise the myocardium and cause arrythmias
Where might we see oxalates and what does it cause if ingested?
- In grasses of unimproved pasture
- binds to calcium in the gut, causes secondary hyperparathyroidism and brittle bones (as a result of not getting dietary Ca and taking it from their own bones)
What is associated with Rye grass?
Neurological/’staggers’
What component of 1080 is dangerous? How does it act once ingested?
- Fluoroacetates
- comes from plants
- block the use of ATP in the brain
- used to kill feral carnivores
What factors are involved in toxicity?
- Animal factors: species, size and body composition, species behaviour, patient stress
- Plant/toxin PK factors: older parts of the plant may have higher toxin levels
- Environmental factors: fertiliser
What does green cestrum cause if ingested?
Acute liver necrosis, cattle most commonly poisoned but other grazing animals are susceptible
What does poison peach (trema tomentosa) cause if ingested?
Contains glycoside trematoxin; Acute liver necrosis, cattle, goats and horses have been affected, probably all livestock are susceptible
What does lantana (lantana camara) cause if ingested?
Usually only eaten by naive animals; Loss of appetite, frequent urination then constipation and dehydration. Large dose results in liver necrosis and photosensitisation. Mainly cattle but affects sheep, goats and probably deer
What causes coagulopathies in cattle?
- Bracken fern toxicity
- Vitamin K antagonist rodenticide
- Dicoumarol poisoning (from silage)
- Onion toxicity
- Copper toxicity
- 2° to toxin induced hepatopathy - e.g. blue green algae, Kleingrass (Panicum coloratum), mycotoxic lupinosis, Xanthium (cocklebur), Lantana