Abstract. Enzootic calcinosis was diagnosed in sheep in Uruguay in pastures containing the plant Nierembergia rivularis. In a flock of 200 sheep, 20 were affected and 12 died. Clinical signs were anorexia, weight loss followed by cachexia, stiffness, and kyphosis. At necropsy and histologic examination, mineral deposits were observed on the medial layer of the arteries, heart, lungs, and kidneys. Similar lesions were also observed in 3 sheep forced to graze in an area containing the plant, while no lesions were observed in a control sheep that grazed in an area free of N. rivularis. It is concluded that N. rivularis is a calcinogenic plant for sheep.
This work describes two outbreaks of enzootic calcinosis in sheep in Uruguay: one caused by Solanum glaucophyllum in 2006 and the other by Nierembergia rivularis in 2005-2006.
The objective of this paper is to report the experimental poisoning in sheep ingesting N. rivularis in northern region of Uruguay. The experiment was conducted in the same farm where the natural intoxication occurred. Four Corriedale crossbred sheep were used, one as control. The animals, weighing an average of 20 kg, were raised in a field without any known toxic plants. Before the start of the experiment, the sheep were identified, clinically examined, dewormed with doramectin and closantel, and immunized against clostridial diseases. Faecal analyses for gastrointestinal nematodes were performed at 30 day intervals. Clinically the most significant symptom of N. rivularis ingestion was that the animals were unable to follow the flock as they were left behind during herd movement and showed dyspnea. When subjected to physical efforts, the signs of fatigue were more obvious. Calcium serum levels increased when ingestion of N. rivularis increased. X-rays showed an increased radiopacity of the aortic arch as the only anomaly. Ultrasonography revealed an increase in ecogenicity at the corticomedullary junction of the kidney.
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