Abstract
Seven nursing calves of the Japanese Black breed 20 to 87 days of age and one Holstein heifer calf 311 days of age were affected suddenly with myopathy accompanied with stiff gait or recumbency and myoglobinuria 2 to 14 days after turned out to pasture. Clinically, white nuscle disease was diagnosed in the calves, and paralytic myoglobinuria in the heifer calf on the basis of age difference. All the animals showed a marked increase in serum enzyme activities (GOT, GPT, LDH and CPK) and a marked decrease in serum selenium (18.3 ± 10.8 ppb in average) and tocopherol (46.3±29.6μg/dl on the average). In the contents of feedstuffs supplied selenium showed a markedly low level less than 0.1 ppm in the stage of housing and grazing, and dl-α-tocopherol a low level only in the stage of housing. Sodium selenite and dl-α-tocopherol acetate were administered intramuscularly to all the animals for treatment, and seven of the eight calves recovered. It was considered that both white muscle disease and paralytic myoglobinuria in calves might be included in myopathy of the same category caused mainly by deficiencies of selenium and tocopherol.
