Abstract
Some cases of sudden deaths in cattle, sheep and goats reported to the National Veterinary Laboratory, Gaborone were investigated. The clinical signs included: stupor, weakness, staggering, trembling, dyspnoea (difficulty in breathing), salivation, diarrhoea, and convulsions for those in extremis. The most consistent sign was the muddy coloured mucous membranes. Necropsy findings included: marked gastroenteritis and generalized congestion and petichiation in all internal body organs and chocolate brown coloured blood that clotted poorly. The presence of nitrate/nitrite in the blood of live animals, amniotic fluid, urine, ocular fluid, urine, drinking water and consumed forage were demonstrated by the diphenylamine test and subsequently confirmed by Gries test. Further confirmation of nitrate/ nitrite poisoning was by response to therapeutic intervention with methylene blue using the intravenous route of inoculation. Environmental factors that may have contributed to the poisoning episodes included, drought, high ambient temperatures, low cloud cover, soil leaching after flooding, soil moisture content and forage nitrogen content and natural geoformations associated with high nitrate content in the water. This is the first account of confirmed cases of nitrate/ nitrite poisoning in livestock in Botswana.
Highlights
Botswana which enjoys a predominantly subtropical climate lies between latitude 18S and 27S and longitude 20E and 29E
In the period 2000 to 2005, twenty two cases of suspected nitrate poisoning involving about 505 head livestock comprising beef cattle, sheep and goats were reported to the National Veterinary Laboratory, Gaborone, Botswana, either by field veterinarians or the farmers themselves (Table 1)
The diagnosis of nitrate poisoning in 22 cases involving cattle, sheep and goats was made based on the positive results of the diphenylamine and Gries tests on body fluids collected at post-mortem, implicated water and forage, characteristic lesions at necropsy and suggestive clinical signs
Summary
Botswana which enjoys a predominantly subtropical climate lies between latitude 18S and 27S and longitude 20E and 29E. The country is largely arid to semi–arid with a preponderance of leguminous Acacia species of trees on the veldt. Rainfall in Botswana averaging 500 mm per annum is generally low, erratic and unreliable. Cyclic periods of severe droughts followed by devastating floods have been recorded and evaluated using the Hashimoto criteria [1,2]. Nitrogen is one of the main biogeochemical elements whose cycle constitutes one of the life lines of planet Earth. Whereas nitrogen compounds in most environments play a beneficial role, the presence of such compounds in water and plants is generally detrimental
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