The Pathology of 3-Nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic Acid Toxicity in Turkeys

Abstract

An investigation into a leg weakness problem in a commercial turkey growing enterprise raised the possibility that inadvertent medication with 3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid (3-Nitro) might have been the cause of locomotor disturbance. The turkeys had been receiving twice the intended level of 50 ppm. A laboratory trial was undertaken in which groups of turkey poults were fed rations from 1 day of age containing 0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 ppm of 3-Nitro. Growth depression occurred at all levels of drug inclusion. All turkeys receiving 200 or 400 ppm of 3-Nitro died within 15 days. There was also considerable mortality in the group receiving 100 ppm of the drug over a 5 week period. Those poults receiving 0 and 50 ppm remained clinically normal for the duration of the trial while nervous signs developed in turkeys of the other groups. Histopathological changes were not seen in the central nervous system but evidence was found to support the diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, probably of the ‘dying back’ type.