Accidental monensin poisoning in goats

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Toxicology
• Ruminant Nutrition
• Animal Pathology

Background:

• Sodium monensin is a widely used ionophore for growth promotion in ruminants.
• While beneficial, monensin can cause toxic effects in various animal species.
• Naturally occurring monensin poisoning has not been previously reported in goats.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the clinical, laboratory, and pathological findings of an accidental sodium monensin poisoning outbreak in Anglo Nubian goat kids.
• To characterize the toxic effects of monensin in goats.

Main Methods:

• Monitoring clinical evolution in 27 intoxicated goat kids.
• Measuring serum creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities and performing blood gas analysis.
• Conducting postmortem examinations on 14 goat kids between 1 and 8 days post-ingestion.

Main Results:

• Thirty-seven of 40 goat kids ingested an estimated toxic dose (25–39 mg/kg BW) of sodium monensin.
• High morbidity (92.5%) and lethality (62.1%) rates were observed.
• Clinical signs included hypomotility, lethargy, anorexia, tachycardia, cardiac arrhythmia, and respiratory distress. Elevated CK and AST levels and mild hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis were noted. Pathological findings revealed cardiac and skeletal muscle degeneration/necrosis, pulmonary congestion/edema, and congestive heart failure.

Conclusions:

• Sodium monensin is toxic to goats, causing significant cardiac and skeletal muscle damage.
• The study documented the first naturally occurring outbreak of monensin poisoning in goats.
• Monensin should be used with caution in goat diets due to its toxicity.