Synonyms

No known synonym

Name of the disease in English

Hemlock poisoning

The disease in brief

The saffron water-hemp is a large plant of the umbelliferae family, living in damp or even muddy places; it is its tubers that are extremely toxic: Oenanthotoxin has convulsive and cardiotoxic properties. The toxic dose is low, 1g/kg of live weight, and often leads to death. It is during the cleaning of ditches that the tubers are placed on the surface or when hungry cattle pull on a remnant of the stem. It is advisable to be vigilant because poisoning can lead to hecatombs and problems of responsibility arise; proof is required.

Clinic & diagnosis

Poisoning is suspected in the event of sudden death in a humid area during pasture in the summer; but also in cattle which, in a few hours or during the day, drool or show nervous signs of "hyper" in the summer during pasture; symptoms must be combined to have a solid suspicion:

–At the locomotor level: He staggers, staggers or shows ataxia to the point of falling.

–On the nervous level: He is agitated, has colic, tremors or myoclonus, reacts exaggeratedly to stimulation, then shows convulsions or opisthotonos

-breathing is rapid or dyspneic. Death often occurs very quickly.

Typical sign of the disease

No description

Pictures

See below

Diagnostic formulas

No description

Differential diagnosis

-Rage NV18.1

-Bacterial meningoencephalitis NV13.1

-Hypomagnesemia NV14.2

-Ketosis, nerve form NV14

-Necrosis of the cerebral cortex NV20

-Tetanus NV19

-NV1 brain abscess

Confirm a suspicion?

It is an on-site investigation that allows clinical suspicion to be confirmed when it is not too late; otherwise, during the autopsy, checking the contents of the rumen easily allows the tubercles to be found.

Prognosis and treatment

The treatment is difficult and often disappointing:

-Reduce nervous signs with an anesthetic: Xylazine or Thiopental

-A rumenotomy can be attempted to rid its contents of lead, washing the contents with a sodium sulfate solution.

-Respiratory support: Doxapram

– Vegetable charcoal

Prevention

Be vigilant when cleaning ditches or drains

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