How Can Fluorosis in Animals be Diagnosed and Prevented?

Abstract

Prolonged fluoride (F) exposure in domestic and wild mammalian animals either through fluoridated drinking water or/and industrial F pollution or airborne F emission causes a serious F poisoning in the form of fluorosis disease. This dreaded disease is a worldwide health problem in both man and animals and endemic in several countries. Thousands of domesticated animals (bovines, flocks, equines, camels, etc.) in the world are suffering with fluorosis due to drinking of water having F >1.0 or 1.5 mg/L and chronic exposure to industrial F emission. In this disease, mainly in the teeth and bones, many types of permanent and irreversible deformities develop one after the other, which are very painful and dangerous for the animal health. But this disease also affects other parts or soft organs of the animal body. F-induced toxic effects or anomalies in teeth, bones, and soft organs are generally referred as dental, skeletal, and non-skeletal fluorosis, respectively. Nevertheless, skeletal fluorosis is most dangerous in animals, due to which animals become victims of lameness at an early age. Fluorosis can be easily diagnosed when it is an advanced stage, but it is a bit difficult to diagnose when it is in its early stages. Nevertheless, on the basis of appearance of its main clinical or pathognomonic signs and careful physical examination, the presence of this disease in the animal can be confirmed or diagnosed. In present editorial, for researchers and investigators, some helpful and important parameters for the diagnosis of fluorosis in domesticated animals such as history, diverse clinical or pathognomonic signs, and the testing of biological samples, blood serum and urine for evidence of F have been highlighted. Simultaneously, different possible or feasible ways for the mitigation or prevention of chronic F poisoning in domestic animals have also been discussed. Along with this, those simple measures how to save animals from getting fluorosis have also been described well in this editorial.