Probable toxicosis in cattle in Israel caused by the oak Quercus calliprinos.

A probable outbreak of oak (Quercus calliprinos) toxicosis in a herd of beef cattle--heifers and first-calving cows--grazing in the Judean foothills of Israel is described. Toxicosis probably occurred because of the consumption of oak leaves and buds during a period of pasture scarcity without any feed supplementation. A progressive syndrome of wasting, dullness, anorexia, polyuria, nephrosis, constipation and recumbency, culminating in death, was seen. A high mortality rate of 83% (38/46 animals) was noted. The clinical-pathological findings revealed increases in blood urea, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and inorganic phosphorus. Decreases were found in alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total serum protein, albumin (ALB), triglyceride (TG), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na) and chloride (CI). The main pathological findings were severe nephrosis, chronic interstitial nephritis, and occasional intestinal ulceration. On the basis of epidemiology, clinical signs, clinical-pathological and pathological findings and renal histology, a tentative diagnosis of oak toxicosis was made.

Stability of prothrombin times in sheep dosed with natural and synthetic anticoagulants.

Sheep were dosed with natural and synthetic anticoagulants to prolong prothrombin time (PT) in the one stage PT test. The stability of subsequent values of PT of up to 40 seconds was measured at various times over a 24 hour period in plasma and whole blood stored at 0, 20 and 30 degrees C, representing ideal to unsuitable conditions of sample preparation and storage. In contrast to cautions in the literature, the various treatments had little influence on PT. These findings should encourage the use of PT in field diagnosis and research in sheep by surmounting the tenet of the difficulty in effectively preserving blood samples for PT determinations.

Examples of poisonous plants in Israel of importance to animals and man.

Several plants causing poisoning in herbivores in Israel have an association with human health. Ferula communis (giant fennel) contains a potent anticoagulant and induces severe haemorrhagic diathesis in grazing ewes, or similar changes in utero in lambs. These and other teratogenic changes have been seen in babies from mothers receiving the anticoagulant warfarin during pregnancy. The Ferula interaction in sheep may be used as a model to study this embryotoxicity in man. Ammi majus (bishops weed) causes severe ophthalmic changes, in particular pigmentary retinopathy in photosensitized domestic fowl. The photoactive principle is currently used in the treatment of psoriasis in man, and such patients should be examined for possible ocular toxicity. Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) caused myopathy in ruminants and is ingested by certain ethnic groups. Oxalis pes-caprae (Bermuda buttercup) causes large-scale oxalate poisoning in sheep and is avidly eaten by children.

Mass poisoning in cattle, palm doves and mink caused by the coccidiostat dibutyltin dilaurate.

Poisoning caused by dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTD) was diagnosed in cattle, mink, and palm doves. The accidental addition of a DBTD premix to calf concentrates at levels up to 25000 ppm on 18 farms caused poisoning in 1000 cattle, of which 171 died and 287 were slaughtered. High concentrations of tin were found in the cattle tissues and precluded their consumption by humans. Palm doves ingesting concentrates containing 12500 ppm DBTD on one farm were also poisoned and had high concentrations of tin in tissues. Mink were inadvertently fed a vitamin-mineral supplement containing about 1700 ppm DBTD. They appeared the most suceptible of the three species to this compound.