Cattle abortions

Brucella abortus is a cause of spontaneous abortion in cattle. In humans it causes undulant fever, i.e. a fever in which temperature undulates with time. Brucella melitensis infects goats it causes an undulant fever called Malta fever, which is common in people living in Mediterranean countries where large flocks of goats are kept. 

Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan parasite that causes abortion in cattle. Depudecin is an inhibitor of these parasites without exerting any cytotoxicity on the host cells. This inhibitor targets the protozoal histone deacetylases (Kwon et al, 2003). 

Toxicoses from pine needles have been reported in field cases, but are rare and have only occurred in pregnant cattle. No toxicity other than abortion in cattle has been demonstrated from ICA or ICA derivatives. However, the abietane-type resin acids in ponderosa pine needles (concentrated in new growth pine tips) have been shown to be toxic, but not abortifacient at high doses, when administered orally to cattle, goats, and hamsters. Pathological evaluations of intoxicated animals includes nephrosis, edema of the CNS, myonecrosis, and gastroenteritis (Stegelmeier et al., 1996). While abietane-type resin acids may contribute to the occasional toxicoses reported in the field, they do not contribute to the abortions. Most cow losses in the field are associated with difficult parturition or post abortion toxemia due to retained fetal membranes. 

Abortion in pregnant cattle is frequently reported but exact amounts and mechanism of action is not fully understood. The fetus is particularly susceptible to hypoxia induced by the methemoglobinemia. Fetal death and abortion may occur at any stage of pregnancy because of the decreased fetal oxygen and the limited ability of the fetus to metabolize nitrate (Knight and Walter, 2001). 

Gardner, D.R. and James, F.F. (1999). Pine needle abortion in cattle Analysis of isocupressic acid in North American Gymnosperms, Phytochem. Anal., 10, 1-5. 

Gardner, D.R., Molyneux, R.J., James, F.F., Panter, K.E. and Stegelmeier, B.L. (1994). Ponderosa pine needle-induced abortion in beef cattle Identification of isocupressic acid as the principal active compound, /. Agric. Food Chem., 42, 756-761. 

Both slaframine and swainsonine were isolated from the fungus Rhizoctonia leguminicula. The fungal infection of red clover hay or pasture is associated with the occurrence of the slobbers syndrome in cattle and horses which consists of excessive salivation (slobbering), lacrimation, feed refusal, bloating, stiff joints, abortion, diarrhoea and/or violent behaviour. Some of these clinical symptoms are similar to loco-weed poisoning but the first two are not observed upon administration of swainsonine to animals [114]. 

No problems have been reported in offspring of pregnant women who used feverfew, but feverfew has purportedly been associated with spontaneous abortion in cattle and uterine contractions in term human pregnancies (4). 

Infections due to Sarcocystis is quite common in domestic animals [52]. The infection in pregnant animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs may often cause abortion. 

In an effort to find an inhibitor for Brucella abortus, which causes contagious abortion in cattle and which favors erythritol as its carbon source. Smith and coworkers have tested a number of analogs of erythritol and threitol these included 1,4-dibromo-l,4-dideoxy-threitol and -erythritol, a 2,3-dibromo-2,3-dideoxythreitol, a l,3-difluoro-2,4-butanediol, and... 

Sheep and cattle developed the same symptoms of iodine deficiency. Abortion rate, length of pregnancy (4 days longer) and mortality of the lambs were significantly increased (Groppel 1986, Groppel and Korber 1982, Groppel etal. 1983). Cows with an iodine intake of 70 pg kg feed DM produced 19% less milk than con-... 

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