VPT 421: Veterinary Toxicology (2+0)

CLINICAL SYMPTOMS

• Per-acute – In per-acute poisoning death is rapid. The symptoms noticed are intense abdominal pain, staggering gait, collapse, paralysis and death.
• Acute – In acute cases the symptoms are salivation, thirst, vomition in possible species, violent colic, watery diarrhoea with peel off mucous membrane sometimes haemorrhagic, exhaustion, collapse and death.
• Sub-acute – Sub-acute cases may live for several days and there may be additional symptoms of depression, loss of appetite, staggering gait, apparent paralysis of the hind quarters, trembling, stupor, convulsions, coldness of the extremities and sub-normal temperature. Proteinuria and haematuria may also occur. Arsenical dermatitis is common in man.
• Chronic – The symptoms include indigestion, thirst, wasting and general appearance of unthriftiness, dry staggering coat, brick red colour of visible mucous membrane, weak and irregular pulse.
• Some organic arsenicals have been used as production aids in poultry and pigs.
• Pigs in particular have suffered damage to peripheral nerves characterized as demyleination following repeated ingestion of medicated feeds. This problem is not amenable to BAL but is sometimes slowly reversible following withdrawal of medicated feed.