Diseases of cattle, sheep, goats and swineMoussu, G. (Gustave)
Science
Diseases of cattle, sheep, goats and swine
Moussu, G. (Gustave)
Veterinary medicine
Dr. Wilcox saw a flock of sheep which while being driven from one range
to another, in a hungry condition, was allowed to feed upon an area of
lupines in a nearly ripe condition. Within two hours the sheep
manifested violent symptoms of poisoning, and ultimately 100 out of the
lot of 200 died. He afterwards saw many hundreds of fatal cases in sheep
and a number in horses, both from eating green lupines and lupine hay.
As an experiment two sheep were given each 150 medium-sized lupine pods
(_L. leucophyllus_) which were entirely full of ripe seeds. The sheep
ate the pods readily. Both sheep became frenzied within about forty-five
minutes after feeding upon the lupine pods, and died about one hour
later. The symptoms in these cases were the same as those observed in
poisoning under natural conditions.
=The symptoms= of lupine poisoning are so well known in Europe that
chronic lupine poisoning has been given the name _lupinosis_. It is
characterised by loss of appetite, fever, dyspnœa, constipation, and
yellowness of the visible mucous membranes. Diarrhœa, sometimes of a
sanguinolent type, appears later. The urine becomes albuminous, tinted
with bile products or stained red by hæmoglobin, and the head shows
œdema. Death occurs in a few days. In America the chronic form has not
been observed. In cases of lupine poisoning in Montana there was noted
acute cerebral congestion, accompanied with mental excitement. The sheep
rushed about in different directions, butting one another and other
objects. The first stage of frenzy was soon followed by a second stage,
characterised by pronounced irregularity of movement, spasms, and
falling fits. In the majority of cases death occurred in from one-half
to one and one-half hours. In extensive cases of lupine poisoning it was
uniformly observed that a number of the sheep lingered on from two to
four days before they died. The muscular convulsions resembled those
caused by strychnine. The excretion of the kidneys was much increased
and frequently was bloody. Post-mortem examinations of sheep poisoned by
lupines revealed conditions similar to those in acute forms of loco
disease, with the addition of a congested condition of the kidneys.
[Illustration: $1]
[Illustration: $1]
No remedies have been tried in cases of poisoning from American species
of lupine, but it seems reasonable to suppose that potassium
permanganate would probably destroy the lupine alkaloids in the stomach
if administered promptly after the first signs of poisoning. Experience
and observation indicate that lupine hay is always dangerous for sheep
if cut at a time when the seeds are retained in the hay. The evidence
thus far collected regarding this matter indicates that the seeds are
the most poisonous part of the plant.
POISONING BY VETCHES (LATHYRUS SATIVUS): LATHYRISM.
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