Veterinary case
Staggering sheep: a pasture plant poisoning the brain
⚠️ This information is provided for awareness only and does not replace an examination by a veterinarian.
🤖 Summary produced automatically from the scientific publication cited at the bottom of the page.
Australian sheep began trembling, staggering and falling after grazing a toxic grass, revealing brain lesions never described before in this species.
What happened?
On several farms in New South Wales, Australia, sheep began showing nervous disorders after grazing on pastures containing the Phalaris plant. Six affected sheep were sent to the veterinary laboratory for postmortem examination after dying or being euthanized due to the severity of their condition. Sheep that died from other causes served as controls for comparison.
What did the vet find?
Affected sheep showed incoordination, excessive excitability, muscle tremors, abnormal gait, limb weakness, convulsions, and then fell and remained down before dying. On brain examination, veterinarians found an abnormal buildup of brown pigment inside neurons, along with a protein called alpha-synuclein accumulating in these nerve cells, something never described before in sheep. This same protein is known in humans in serious brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease.
What did the vet do?
ℹ️ Treatment given to THIS animal, decided by its veterinarian. It is not a prescription: never apply it without veterinary advice.
There was no treatment that could save these animals once nervous signs appeared, as the disease is progressive and fatal. The most severely affected sheep had to be euthanized to prevent unnecessary suffering, and their brains were studied to understand the disease.
What happened next?
All six affected sheep either died or were euthanized due to the severity of the nervous disease. Study of their brains confirmed a clear link between Phalaris plant poisoning and the accumulation of this abnormal protein, an important finding for better understanding this type of disease in animals.
Advice for the farmer
Avoid letting sheep graze large amounts of Phalaris pasture, especially right after heavy rain following a dry period, when the plant becomes more toxic.
Source
- Source
- PubMed Central
- Title
- Case Report: Synucleinopathy Associated With Phalaris Neurotoxicity in Sheep.
- Authors
- Tayebi M, Pinczowski P, Habiba U, Khan R, David MA, Summers BA.
- Year
- 2021
- DOI
- 10.3389/fvets.2021.736567
- Licence
- CC BY
