Organophosphate poisoning in sheep - case report

Abstract

ABSTRACT This report describes an outbreak of exogenous organophosphate poisoning in a flock of Lacaune sheep. Forty sheep had signs of delayed poisoning after accidental exposure to an organophosphate-based insecticide (Diclorvol 1000 CE®, Diclorvós 82,5%, ChemoNE, Brazil). The clinical signs were bradycardia, bronchoconstriction, diarrhea, salivation, nasal discharge, apathy, prostration, motor incoordination, head pressing against objects, neck stiffness, paresis, flaccid paralysis of the limbs, permanent decubitus, pedaling movements in lateral decubitus, and death. After the onset of the clinical signs, sheep died in the flock over a period of sixty days. For the diagnosis, four animals were necropsied and samples of their brains, kidneys, and lungs were taken for toxicological analysis by thin layer chromatography; blood samples were also taken for biochemical analysis. The following was detected: liver alterations in serum biochemistry; pneumonia, edema, and congestion in macroscopic pathological analysis; hepatic microsteatosis, congestion, edema, and hemorrhage in lung, kidney, and liver histology; and organophosphates in the pool of samples from the sheep that were necropsied. The association between the epidemiological clinical findings and the laboratory results showed a clinical picture of organophosphate-induced delayed polyneuropathy, highly lethal in sheep, which alerts to the risk of improper use of these substances in animal facilities.

Keywords

• anticholinesterase
• Dichlorvos
• delayed poisoning
• Lacaune
• nervous system