Cattle in the Kempen area (in the province North-Brabant, the Netherlands) were investigated for cadmium, lead, zinc, and copper in livers and kidneys. The animals originated from farms located within a 20 km radius around several zinc refinery plants. The local soil is polluted with zinc and cadmium because of a thermal refining process used in the past.Mean cadmium organ concentrations were 2.5 times, and mean lead organ concentrations were 1.5 times higher than the concentrations found in controls. Copper levels tended to be decreased, but zinc levels did not differ from controls.The observed cadmium and lead organ concentrations did not indicate intoxication of the animals, but 22% of the kidneys and 3% of the livers investigated trespassed the maximum tolerance limit of cadmium with regard to human consumption.Continuous control of cadmium organ contents in organs from slaughtercattle kept in cadmium-polluted areas is recommended.

An experiment was designed to study the clinical effects of different levels of carbadox, cyadox and olaquindox in the ration on health, weekly weight gain and feed conversion in pigs. Four different carbadox and olaquindox (25,50, 100 and 200ppm) levels and five different cyadox (25, 50, 100,200 and 400ppm) levels were tested in groups of 6 pigs during 6 weeks. The 13 groups were compared with a control group fed on the same diet with only vehicle.After one week the first clinical sign, a high faecal dry matter (FDM) content, was observed in the 200ppm carbadox group, followed by the 100 and 50 pprn carbadox, the 400 and 100 pprn cyadox, and the 200 and 100 pprn olaquindox groups two weeks later. A second clinical sign, urine drinking from the floor or from pen-mates, was observed in the same pens, occurring in the same sequence. The third important clinical sign, a decreased abdominal volume, was also observed in almost the same sequence, however, in the 50 pprn olaquindox and cyadox groups this clinical sign was not observed. Average weekly weight gain was significantly decreased in the higher carbadox and olaquindox groups. Weight gain was significantly increased in the 200ppm cyadox group. Hematocrit values were significantly increased in the 200 and 100 pprn carbadox groups only.From this study one may conclude that, within the dosages used, carbadox is more harmful than olaquindox for pigs, and it seems that cyadox is harmless for pigs in dosages up to 400 ppm.

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Concentrations of carbadox and a first metabolite, desoxycarbadox, were measured in contents of the porcine gastrointestinal tract after in-feed administration of carbadox in therapeutic dosages (100-150 ppm). The levels of carbadox in the relevant parts of the gastrointestinal tract were found to be lower than the MIC-values reported for enteropathogenic microorganisms at their sites of action. The presented observations do not provide a pharmacological rationale for the therapeutic use of carbadox in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea in swine. The carbadox levels encountered in the proximal part of the gut (stomach, duodenum) however, seem to indicate that in-feed administration of 50 ppm carbadox can provide an effective prophylaxis against Treponema hyodysenteriae, a causative agent in swine dysentery. The timecourse of the blood levels of carbadox and desoxycarbadox after in-feed administration of carbadox (50 ppm) and the concentration profiles in the gastrointestinal tract are discussed with regard to the disposition of this drug in pigs.

No abstract