Cattle in the Kempen area (in the province North-Brabant, the Netherlands) were investigated for cadmium, lead, zinc, and copper in livers and kidneys. The animals originated from farms located within a 20 km radius around several zinc refinery plants. The local soil is polluted with zinc and cadmium because of a thermal refining process used in the past.Mean cadmium organ concentrations were 2.5 times, and mean lead organ concentrations were 1.5 times higher than the concentrations found in controls. Copper levels tended to be decreased, but zinc levels did not differ from controls.The observed cadmium and lead organ concentrations did not indicate intoxication of the animals, but 22% of the kidneys and 3% of the livers investigated trespassed the maximum tolerance limit of cadmium with regard to human consumption.Continuous control of cadmium organ contents in organs from slaughtercattle kept in cadmium-polluted areas is recommended.

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Concentrations of carbadox and a first metabolite, desoxycarbadox, were measured in contents of the porcine gastrointestinal tract after in-feed administration of carbadox in therapeutic dosages (100-150 ppm). The levels of carbadox in the relevant parts of the gastrointestinal tract were found to be lower than the MIC-values reported for enteropathogenic microorganisms at their sites of action. The presented observations do not provide a pharmacological rationale for the therapeutic use of carbadox in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea in swine. The carbadox levels encountered in the proximal part of the gut (stomach, duodenum) however, seem to indicate that in-feed administration of 50 ppm carbadox can provide an effective prophylaxis against Treponema hyodysenteriae, a causative agent in swine dysentery. The timecourse of the blood levels of carbadox and desoxycarbadox after in-feed administration of carbadox (50 ppm) and the concentration profiles in the gastrointestinal tract are discussed with regard to the disposition of this drug in pigs.

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