Synonyms

Spotted hemlock, officinal hemlock

Name of the disease in English

Conium maculatum or Hemlock poisoning

The disease in brief

The large hemlock is a common plant in many areas, from 50cm to 2 meters high; she likes wet areas, hedges and roadsides. The whole plant is poisonous and the plant dried in hay retains some toxicity. It is alkaloids such as coniine which are the toxic agents with curative effects leading to paralysis of the muscles. 2 to 5 kg of fresh leaves kill an adult cattle. Intoxication can induce congenital malformations of the arthrogryposis type.

Clinic & diagnosis

The intoxication will manifest itself to the breeder by a bovine which drools, or which shows nervous signs or cannot get up, in summer, in the pasture; we suspect it by noting at the same time:

- Nervous signs in "hypo": A cattle "limp", or "drunk", or slaughtered to drowsy, whose reflexes are reduced, or showing tremors which can be standing or lying down.

-Other various signs: Respiratory (tachypnea or dyspnea), ocular (mydriasis), a cyanotic conjunctival mucosa, or digestive (diarrhea), or drooling.

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Typical sign of the disease

No description

Pictures

See below

Diagnostic formulas

No description

Differential diagnosis

- Paraplegia by damage to muscles and motor nerves (obturator, etc.) -LC31

- Poisoning by vegetable oxalates -N163

- Botulism -NV12.1

-RGS 

- metabolic diseases with nervous expression in hypo 

Confirm a suspicion?

This intoxication is most often confirmed by autopsy: By spotting plant debris in the contents of the rumen or by spotting the smell of mouse urine from the plant.

If necessary, it can be dosed in a specialized laboratory.

Prognosis and treatment

The prognosis is still reserved. Treatment includes:

-Cardiorespiratory analeptics: Doxapram, heptaminol

- Oral charcoal

Prevention

prevent access to areas where the plant grows

References

Jouve C. (2009) Contribution to the development of a website on plant toxicology in ruminants: Monographs of the main plants incriminated according to data from CNITV-Th. Med .Vet. Claude Bernard-Lyon University1 271p