Abstract
On a dairy farm in Iwate Prefecture, nine out of 10 suckling calves died within one day, demonstrating collapse and tachypnea. The fermented milk for these suckling calves was found to be different than the milk they had been given on previous days. Histologically, a necrotic inflammation with hemorrhage was found in the abomasum and proximal duodenum of two of the affected calves. Formaldehyde was identified in the abomasum contents of those calves as well as the fermented milk given to the calves. Formic acid, which is considered to be a formaldehyde metabolite, was detected in the sera of 4 of the affected calves, with a concentration ranging from 8.5 to 42.6 mg/l. Based on these results, the disease was diagnosed as poisoning caused by formaldehyde, and the source of the poisoning was its presence in the fermented milk.
