Accidental Poisoning with Nerium Oleander in Goat dairy in the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile

Abstract

A small dairy goat farm in central Chile stocked their troughs with ornamental plants and grasses, which were obtained after pruning the gardens of neighboring sectors. Twelve hours after the goats ingested this food, the farm registered a death toll of eight goats, all of which were adult females in their productive stage, before entering the milking parlor. The mortality episode lasted 84 hours and produced mortality and morbidity values of 48 and 54 percent, respectively (n = 52). During a visit to the farm, clinic inspections, autopsies, and sample tissues were obtained for microscopic analysis (the tissues specimens were fixed in 10% buffered formaldehyde solution). The clinic inspection and microscopic analysis both confirmed that the animals had cardiovascular disease. The lesions were compatible with those produced by cardiac glycosides. During the site visit, Nerium oleander was found in the troughs, which suggested that the animals were poisoned by eating this plant. There was a high presence of this plant in the poisoned area, and it was not associated with the mortality episode before the on-site visit, which indicates that the authors should conduct training and inform producers about the handling and feeding of their animals

Poisoning by Nerium oleander L. in Franconia Geese

“…This finding is consistent with a recent case report, which found no evident cardiac sign but an increase in biochemical markers of cardiac lesions, namely CPK, AST, LDH, and troponin I [24]. Additionally, the microscopic findings at the cardiac level agreed with the previous observations in broiler chickens [14] and in goats [25], which evidenced necrosis of cardiomyocytes with the presence of pycnotic nuclei and rupture of myofibrils. It is interesting to underline that the animals used in previous experimental intoxication died several hours after the oleander administration while, in the case presented here, animals died within 15-90 min.…”

Accidental Oleandrum (Nerium Oleander L.) Ingestion: Anatomo-Pathological consequences in livestock species

“…Despite its poor palatability, the ingestion of toxic plants is a common occurrence found in domestic animals and livestock species (Kozikowski et al 2009;Cortinovis et al 2013;Reiner et al2013). It can be consumed voluntarily by animals when they are hungry or when there is scarcity of fodder (Al-Farwachi et al 2008;Flores et al 2019;Ceci et al 2020).How-ever, poisoning can also be attributed to human managerial errors when oleander is unintentionally mowed, crushed, and mixed with feed. Animals can also be intoxicated after the ingestion of water containing fallen and macerated leaves (Ceci et al 2020).…”