Mysterious Sudden Deaths in a Beef Cattle Herd

We love hearing about all the cool cases you get to see! Ali Attenasio from Cornell University shares an interesting case about sudden death in a herd of cattle.

"A well-isolated herd of 85 Lowline Angus beef cattle had 5 cases of sudden death in 3 years. They are grass-fed, pastured in the summer and fed dry hay and haylage in the winter. They are on a free-choice mineral mix and have inconsistent access to protein tubs. The animals that died were breeding females of different ages (4-9 y/o) with calves at their side, and some were at different stages of pregnancy. They each spontaneously fell, stiffened, and seized intermittently before expiring. Samples were collected post-mortem for the diagnostics.

Diagnostics: 

- Nitrates (from aqueous humor)- within normal limits

- CBC/Chem- High Potassium (4/5 animals), all other values within normal limits.

- Necropsy- no significant findings, blood clot near heart of one animal

- Selenium- low end of normal

- Lead- negative"

Curious to learn more about the diagnosis? Check back in on Tuesday to learn about the rest of the case!