Comparative study of chronic copper poisoning in lambs and young goats

Abstract

Eighteen lambs (L) and 18 goats (G), 12 weeks of age, were allocated in equal numbers to three diets. The basal (B) diet had no added copper (Cu) while the other two had 30 or 60 mg added Cu per kg dry matter (DM) as CuSO 4 .5H 2 O. Lambs and goats were housed and fed individually. After 67 days, deaths from Cu toxicity occurred only in lambs from groups L-30 (basal diet + 30 mg Cu per kg DM) and L-60 (basal diet + 60 mg Cu per kg DM). The remaining lambs and all of the goats were slaughtered at 91 and 137 days respectively.A decreased food intake and loss of weight were observed in some lambs towards the end of the experiment which appeared to be associated with an approaching haemolytic crisis. The additional dietary Cu had a positive effect on food conversion efficiency only in the early stages of the experiment in both lambs and goats. None of the goats died or lost weight.Plasma Cu concentrations and serum glutamate oxalacetate transaminase and creatine kinase activities were elevated in lambs of groups L-30 and L-60 after 2 months, while in goats the concentrations were in normal ranges during the whole experimental period.Additional dietary Cu increased significantly the Cu concentrations of liver, kidney, muscle, spleen, heart, brain, hair and faeces in both lambs and goats. Additional Cu decreased the fresh and dry liver weights of lambs and the liver to live weight ratio whereas the corresponding values for kidneys were increased. The differences between groups of goats in fresh or dry liver and kidney weights were not significant, though the fresh and dry liver weights tended to be higher in groups G-30 and G-60 compared with those in the group G-B.The amount of Cu stored in the livers of the lambs was six to nine times higher than that of the goats. Differences in Cu storage between lambs and goats may be related to species differences in Cu utilization and hence resistance to Cu toxicity.

Chronic Copper Toxicosis in Sheep Following the Use of Copper Sulfate as a Fungicide on Fruit Trees

“…In the present study, the Cu concentrations of serum (8-108 mmol/l), liver (103-614 mg/kg, wet weight [WW]), kidney (26-61 mg/kg, WW), and vegetation (114-170 mg/kg, dry basis [DB]) were consistent with chronic Cu toxicosis as reported in the veterinary literature. [1][2][3]6,11,12,14,16,17 The Cu concentrations of the vegetation and diet in the present report were also higher than previously reported physiological Cu concentrations. 4,9,15 Although the Cu-contaminated vegetation (114 and 170 mg Cu/kg, DB; Sheep are very susceptible to Cu overdose, and chronic Cu toxicosis occurs when animals are fed diets over weeks or months that are marginally high in copper content (15-20 mg/kg, DW) with low concentrations of molybdenum.…”

“…4,9,15 Although the Cu-contaminated vegetation (114 and 170 mg Cu/kg, DB; Sheep are very susceptible to Cu overdose, and chronic Cu toxicosis occurs when animals are fed diets over weeks or months that are marginally high in copper content (15-20 mg/kg, DW) with low concentrations of molybdenum. 10,17 Reported clinical signs of chronic Cu toxicosis in sheep are depression, weakness, rumen stasis, anorexia, hematuria, hemoglobinuria, icterus, incoordination, and ptyalism. 3,10,15 Clinical signs in the sheep of the present report were similar.…”

Fungicides and Their Effects on Animals

“…Sheep are affected most often, although other species are also susceptible to copper (Cu) overdose. Chronic Cu toxicosis occurs in sheep when animals are fed diets over weeks or months that are marginally high in copper content (15-20 mg/kg, dry weight) with low concentrations of molybdenum (Zervas et al, 1990;Lorgue et al, 1996). Systemic poisonings have been reported in sheep (Ortolani et al, 2003;Ortolani et al, 2004;Roubies et al, 2008;Oruc et.…”

Town-based spatial heterogeneity of nutrient balance and potential pollution risk of land application of animal manure and fertilizer in Shanghai, China

“…These metals, primarily copper and zinc, come from feed additives used for increasing growth performance and preventing disease in livestock and poultry production (Wong and Bradshaw 1982;Zervas et al 1990;Kalyanaraman and Sivagurunathan 1993;Alloway 1995). However, Shen et al 2006 andMeng et al 2008 investigated heavy metal accumulation in the cropland soils of Shanghai suburbs and it did not appear to be a problem.…”