VPT 421: Veterinary Toxicology (2+0)

SOURCES OF COPPER POISONING

• The salts of copper are widely used in agriculture and animal practice.
• Acute toxicosis occurs due to ingestion or administration of high doses of copper. However, copper toxicity is not very common.

Sources

• Copper sulphate is widely used as an antifungal agent in agricultural practice. It is used in the destruction of snails.
• Copper sulphate also finds a place in the treatment of parasitic gastritis in sheep.
• Soils and plants fertilised using poultry litter and swine manure have more copper content.
• Soil also gets contaminated with copper by mining and smelting industries.
• The most common and serious problem in copper toxicosis is molybdenum deficiency in sheep, an acute syndrome which suddenly occurs after chronic dietary exposure to an excessive copper to molybdenum ratio.
• Genetic defects in some dog breeds (Bedlington terriors) cause excessive storage of copper in the liver.