Abstract
Monensin is an antibiotic that has been widely used as coccidiostat as well as a feed additive to improve livestock performance. It is safe to use such drug as long as the species-objective and manufacturer's recommended dosage are considered – 3mg/kg in horses, 12mg/kg in sheep, 22mg/kg in cattle, and 200mg/kg in chicken. An outbreak of monensin poisoning was reported in a sheep flock in the semiarid region of northeast Brazil. It was caused by the ingestion of chicken litter originated from a farm where chickens were treated with the same antibiotic. Clinical signs were apathy, anorexia, muscular weakness, and locomotion disorders. Further evidence revealed a high increase on serum creatine kinase (CPK) levels. One of the animals was euthanized. At necropsy, the liver was yellowish and skeletal and cardiac muscles were pale. Histological evaluation of these muscles revealed hyaline and floccular degeneration and the liver had centrilobular fatty degeneration. Epidemiological and clinical signs, histopathological lesions, and CPK levels all indicated monesin poisoning. This is the first report of ionophore antibiotic poisoning in sheep in Brazil's semiarid region.
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