Mysterious Sudden Deaths in a Beef Cattle Herd - Continued

Did you guess correctly? Check out what Ali found below!

"We were specifically concerned with Grass Tetany (Magnesium deficiency), but the Magnesium values came back within normal limits for each deceased animal. We tested the water for lead and arsenic, checked for other environmental factors, and found nothing. We did surveillance chemistries on 4 random females of different ages. Magnesium was borderline-low on all of them. The post-mortem samples weren't representative because when the animals seized or twitched severely before they died, Magnesium was released from where it is stored in muscle, elevating serum levels. In animals that had not experienced muscle damage or twitching showed true Mg serum values. 

This herd is now being supplemented with Magnesium Oxide dusted on their feed and mixed in with their free-choice mineral mix, and they have not had any problems since!"

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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!