Continuing education – Voortgesette opleiding

Water intoxication in cattle

E M Njorogea, J M Maribei

a, P N Mbugua

aand S M Njiru

a

INTRODUCTION

Water intoxication is a condition thatoccurs when excessive quantities of waterare ingested by very thirsty animals3. Itcommonly occurs in animals that have

 been subjected to severe exercise or highenvironmental temperatures16.

Water intoxication was first reportedas a distinct syndrome in man28. Subse-quently, naturally occurring cases have

 been reported in man12,17,25, sheep1, pigs19,camels27, calves2–7,10,11,13,16,18,24,26,29 and adultcattle8. Calves are the most commonlyaffected animals3.

ANIMALS AFFECTED

In cattle, the condition has been re-ported to occur in all ages, but it is morecommon among calves 2–10 months of age and is most frequent in calves 3–5months of age2,7,8,29. All breeds of cattle areaffected. The condition has no sex predi-lection.

PREDISPOSING FACTORS

A number of factors predispose calvesto water intoxication15. Young bucket-fedcalves usually drink excessive quantitiesof water if it is offered to them in themanner in which they usually receivetheir milk. Under such circumstances, thelimit of their consumption is apparentlygoverned not by satiety, but by the physi-cal limit of capacity of the gut. Anotherpredisposing factor is the high ruminalcapacity to hold ingested water as com-pared with total body size.

Chronic subclinical dehydration ac-

companied by increased environmentaltemperature, exercise or increased bodywater loss due to diarrhoea or fever alsopredisposes calves to water intoxication.Calvesin anoliguricstate or those thatfailto rapidly develop diuresis after wateroverloading have a higher predispositionto water intoxication than normal calves.

More recent findings indicate thatfailure to provide calves with both waterand salts2* from as early as 2 weeks of ageto weaning predisposes them to waterintoxication20,22. Under experimental con-ditions, calves raised solely on milk from2 weeks of age to weaning developed thecondition while those raised on milk,water and salts did not. The salts used inthe experiment included many minerals.However, the authors did not determinethe role that each mineral component of the salt played in prevention of waterintoxication.

Age has also been reported to predis-pose animals to the condition14. Haemo-globinuria is found most frequently incalves 3–5 months of age.

In adult cattle, the most commonpredisposing factor is chronic subclinicaldehydration due to prolonged failure of water supply, accompanied by increasedenvironmental temperature. They de-velop chronic oliguria and fail to rapidlydevelopdiuresisafterwater overloading 8.

HISTORY

In Kenya, a similar case history is given by farmers in almost all cases reported

(Clinical Records, Large Animal Clinic,Clinical Studies Department, Universityof Nairobi). Animals are exposed to awater source where they drink  ad libitumafter a long period of restriction and theythen start voiding ‘bloody’ urine. Thefarmer may report having raised calveson milk or milk substitutes alone,withoutaccess to additional water, followed byeither unlimited water supply or an auto-maticwatersource7,8,29.Oneor2calvesareusually involved on small-holder farms,while several may be involved on large

 beef and dairy farms29. In adult cattle, thecommonly reported cases involve beef herds raisedon rangelands that have hadno water supply, followed by excesssupply8.

CLINICAL SIGNS

In a group of calves, water intoxicationmay be manifested in all or only a few of the animals2,9,18,29. Clinically, the conditionis characterised by haemoglobinuria andnervous signs. The nervous signs includehyperaesthesia, muscular tremors, nys-tagmus and lethargy20,22. Mild cases re-cover in 3–4 hours. In severely affectedanimals, lethargy may progress todepression andcoma,and death occurs in24–48 hours11,15,20,22. In some cases haemo-globinuria is the only clinical sign ob-served22,29; in others, the nervous signspredominate and haemoglobinuria is notdetected7,9. Additional signs include hy-pothermia, salivation, severe ruminaltympany, colic, diarrhoea, arrhythmia,oedema of the eyelids and erection of 

 body hair7,11,15,20.In adult cattle, water intoxication is

manifested clinically by haemoglobi-nuria. Other signs present in calves arerare. Unlike camels27, bloody diarrhoeaand abortion have not been recorded incattle.

PATHOGENESIS

After drinking too much water, animalsdevelop a state of positive water balance.The excess water circulating in the bodyleads to haemodilution. In cases of waterintoxication inbothcalvesandadultcattleunder experimental conditions, a sharpdrop in plasma Na+ concentration due tohaemodilution hasbeenreported21,22.Thisleads to increased absorption of water

0038-2809 Jl S.Afr.vet.Ass. (1999) 70(4): 177–179 177

ABSTRACTWater intoxication is a condition that is common in cattle, and has also been reported in

other domestic animalsand man. A comprehensive description of thecondition is lacking.

For a betterunderstandingof thecondition,thispaperreviewswork that hasbeenreported

previously by various authors.

Key words: adult cattle, calves, milk, salts, water intoxication.

NjorogeE M,Maribei J M,Mbugua P N,NjiruS M Water intoxication in cattle. Journal of theSouth African Veterinary Association (1999) 70(4): 177–179 (En.). Faculty of Veterinary Medi-

cine, University of Nairobi, PO Box 29053, Nairobi, Kenya.

aFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nairobi,PO Box 29053, Nairobi, Kenya.

Received: March 1999. Accepted: September 1999.

*The salt (Maclik Super ® , Unga Feeds, Kenya) used hadthe following constituents: NaCl 27 %; Ca 18.51 %; P11.00%; Mg3.00 %;Fe 0.50%; Cu0.16 %;Mn 0.40%;Zn0.50 %;S 0.40%; Co0.02 %;I 0.02%; Se0.0015 %;Mo 0.0002 %.

 

down a concentration gradient into thecells. Cellular hydration occurs and inorganised tissues, the cells increase inturgidity; this is evident in the brain,where oedema occurs, causing nervoussigns3,22,23. In unorganised tissues, particu-larly theerythrocytes, hypotonicity of the

 blood leads to lysis of the cells and the re-sulting haemolysis may cause severeanaemia and haemoglobinuria3,22–24. Incalves, haemoglobinuria has also beenattributed to fragility of erythrocytes.Theosmotic fragility of erythrocytes has beenfound to be higher in calves suffering from water intoxication than those thatdo not suffer from the condition22. Inadult cattle, fragility of erythrocytes hasnot been reported to play a role in thepathogenesis of water intoxication.

POST MORTEM LESIONS

In both calves and adult cattle, thecarcass is usually in poor condition andshows severe ruminal tympany8,22,23.Grossly, there may be fluid in both theabdominal and thoracic cavities. The fatin the coronary grooves of the heart may

 be gelati no us . Th e ur inar y bladderusually contains red urine. The kidneysappear dark. In calves, the sulci on thesurface of the brain are flattened, indicat-ing a degreeof oedema. This has not beenreported in adult cattle. Unlike in thecamel, rupture of the abomasum has not

 been observed in either calves or adultcattle. Ruptured abomasum has beenreported to be the only significant  postmortem finding in camels27.

Microscopic changes have been reportedonly in calves. Histological examinationreveals oedema and haemorrhage of the

 brain parenchyma23. Cerebral veins andvenules are congested and fil l theVirchow-Robin spaces. The kidney mayshow marked lymphocytic infiltration of the cortex and fibrosis around the capil-laries. The renal medulla may have areasof haemorrhage and congested capillar-ies. The epithelial cells of the kidneytubules contain fine, red granules. Theurinary bladder may have areas of oedema, both beneath the stratifiedmucosa and in the muscular layer23.

DIAGNOSIS

Diagnosis of water intoxication is basedon age incidence, history of free access towater after a period of restriction, rapidonset of nervous signs and mortality,haemoglobinuria and the finding of pul-monary oedema at necropsy7,22. Confir-matory diagnosis is achieved by elimi-nation of other diseases that cause ner-vous signs and haemoglobinuria in cattleand, retrospectively, by response to treat-ment.

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES

Water intoxication needs to be distin-guished from other diseases that causenervous signs and haemoglobinuria.Numerous diseases and intoxications cancause nervous signs in cattle of variousages. Babesiosis is the most usual cause of haemoglobinuria in adult cattle, and maysometimes be observed in calves.

TREATMENT

Hypertonic saline (5 %) given intrave-nously has been recommended for treat-mentof waterintoxication9. However, thisiseffectiveonly inmild to moderatecases.In severe cases, use of both 5 % dextrose-saline solution intravenously and a tran-quilliser such as acetylpromazine has

 been found to achieve a better response incalves11,22.

PREVENTION

Prevention of water intoxication can beachieved by provision of salts and waterad libitum   to calves from as early as 2weeks of age. The salts may be providedas blocks or powder licks for the calves tolick  ad libitum22.

WATER INTOXICATION AND SALT

POISONING

Whereas waterintoxication results froma state of positive water balance withinthe body, salt poisoning occurs whenexcessive amounts of salt are ingested oranimals have been drinking saline waterwithout access to fresh water. The saltingested causes irritation of the gastroin-testinal tract. This is manifested as diarr-hoea wi th mucous in the faeces ,depressionof bodytemperature, abdomi-nal pain and anorexia. Some salt is ab-sorbed and may cause involvement of central nervous system. The signs in thiscase are similar to those of water intoxica-tion in calves. However, a nervous syn-drome due to salt poisoning is present in

 both calves and adult cattle, while thatdue to water intoxication is common onlyin calves. Haemoglobinuria is the mostcommon clinical sign in cases of waterintoxication but has not been reported insalt poisoning. In salt poisoning, theplasma Na+ is elevated while in waterintoxication it is lower than in healthyanimals.

Cattle that die of salt poisoning showmarked congestion of the mucosae of theomasum and abomasum. Fluid faecesthat are dark in colour may be present.

Treatment of salt poisoning involvesremoval of the toxic feed or water andprovision of fresh water in small quanti-ties. In cases of nervous involvement,treatment is similar to that for waterintoxication in calves withnervoussigns.

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