Sudden - toxicology Flashcards

1
Q

List some of the frequently envountered toxins of livestock.

A
  • Plants
  • Nitrate poisoning
  • Cyanide poisoning
  • Urea poisoning
  • Lead poisoning
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2
Q

How could ruminants get nitrate posoning? What are some of the clinical signs?

A
  • 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
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3
Q

How might cyanide poisoning occur?

A

Ingested regrowth of soughum crop is a poison risk

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4
Q

How might urea poisoning occur?

A

problem in intensive industries due to poor effluent disposal. High urea plasma levels result neurological signs including convulsions

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5
Q

How might lead poisoning occur?

A

animals licking old car batteries – lead intoxication leads to non‐specific GUT signs and neurological signs

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6
Q

What do pyrrolizidine alkaloids cause in horses, sheep and cattle?

A

Liver damage - causes chronic liver disease

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7
Q

What is oleander (nerium oleander) high in?

A
  • Cardiac glycosides
  • can oversensitise the myocardium and cause arrythmias
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8
Q

Where might we see oxalates and what does it cause if ingested?

A
  • 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)
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9
Q

What is associated with Rye grass?

A

Neurological/’staggers’

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10
Q

What component of 1080 is dangerous? How does it act once ingested?

A
  • Fluoroacetates
  • comes from plants
  • block the use of ATP in the brain
  • used to kill feral carnivores
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11
Q

What factors are involved in toxicity?

A
  • 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
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12
Q

What does green cestrum cause if ingested?

A

Acute liver necrosis, cattle most commonly poisoned but other grazing animals are susceptible

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13
Q

What does poison peach (trema tomentosa) cause if ingested?

A

Contains glycoside trematoxin; Acute liver necrosis, cattle, goats and horses have been affected, probably all livestock are susceptible

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14
Q

What does lantana (lantana camara) cause if ingested?

A

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

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15
Q

What causes coagulopathies in cattle?

A
  • 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
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16
Q

What may be a scenario when dicouumarol poisoning may occur?

A
  • Mouldy clover silage produces coumarol which is converted to dicoumarol by soil fungi
17
Q

What are some examples of plants that are pyrrolizidine alkaloids?

A
  • Fireweed and patersons curse
18
Q

What does eating pyrralizidine pasture lead to in horses?

A
  • Chronic liver failure if a lot is eaten (for instance if there is a lack of other food)
19
Q

What factors influence toxicity of patersons curse?

A
  • Weather can influence the concentration of toxin in the plant
20
Q

How do pyrolizidine alkaloids lead to in sheep?

A
  • Chronic copper hepatic toxicosis in sheep
21
Q

What factors that lead to toxicity other than inherent toxicity and magnitude of dose of pyrrolizidien alkaloids?

A
  • Species e.g. slow copper accumulation in liver
  • Patient stress: some patients will only express signs of toxicosis when stressed e.g. birthing
  • Type of toxin exposure i.e. acute vs chronic may result in differences in PD response
  • Weather may influence concentration of toxin in plant; drought may induce plants they are not adapted to
22
Q

When might nitrate/nitrite poisoning occur in ruminants?

A

Occurs when ruminants ingest plants with high nitrate concentrations (sorghum, lucerne, oats, cornstalks, ryegrass) under the following situations
- When plant growth decreases such as plant matures, dry weather, overcast weather
- When nitrate containing fertilizers are applied
- Contaminated with high concentrations of nitrate in water

23
Q

Why do plants accumulate nitrate?

A
  • Plant species differences in how much nitrate they accumulate
  • Fertilizer use can increase the nitrate concentration in the plant
  • Climatic conditions: Slow growing conditions such as frost, drought, cloudy conditions AND Herbicides slow down the plant reductases resulting in nitrate accumulation in the plant
24
Q

What are the clinical signs associated with nitrate/nitrite toxicity?

A
  • “Muddy” mucous membranes
  • Anxiety
  • Tachypnoea, tachycardia
  • Weakness, ataxia
  • Depression, seizures
  • Abortion (foetal anoxia)
  • > 20% metHb = clinical signs
  • > 80% metHb = death
25
Q

How is nitrate/nitrite poisoning diagnosed?

A
  • Clinical signs - blood & mm colour, sudden death
  • High [nitrate] in feed or water
  • High [nitrite] - serum, urine, ruminal contents and aqueous humor
  • Each affected animal can be treated with methylene blue – impractical?
26
Q

How can nitrate/nitrite poisoning be prevented?

A
  • Know potential toxicity associated with local crops
  • Acclimatise animals to eating feed with higher nitrate concentrations such as multiple small feedings
  • Recognise weather – greater risk of nitrate accumulation when crops are slow growing
  • Recognise greater risk when crops are recently fertilised
  • Selection of animals and plants for genetic resistance to minimise toxic concentrations of nitrite (animals) or nitrates (in plants)
27
Q

Why are we trying to replace 1080 baiting with PAPP?

A
  • Sodium Monofluoroacetate
  • 1080 causes a violent death
  • There is an antidote available for PAPP in the instance that it is ingested
  • PAPP is a more humane opison as it results in rapid unconsciousness followed by a quick death