Abstract
Five Aberdeen Angus calves and one Hereford calf, 16 to 62 days of age, were studied. Of these six, two showed sudden death and four died within 5 days at the onset of therapy with injection of tocopherol, tocopherol and selenium, and cardiotonic. The calves showed clinical symptoms of tachycardia, tachypnea and cyanosis without stiff gait or recumbency. Serum enzyme activities (GOT, GPT, CPK, LDH) increased, and especially activity of LDH1 of LDH isoenzyme was high. Electrocardiogram of one calf showed sinus tachycardia and elevated ST wave. Pathologically, cardiac muscle of all calves affected the left ventricle and interventricular septum with the lesions of greyish white streaks. Histologic examination of the heart revealed severe degeneration of cardiac muscle cells, and skeletal muscle showed slight lesions, but one calf was not affected.
All calves showed a marked decrease in serum tocopherol (66.1±43.7ug/dl in average) and selenium (10.2±6.0 ppb in average), and in tocopherol and selenium of organs. The contents of selenium in foodstuffs supplied in the farms were markedly low levels below 0.1 ppm D. M and a-tocopherol less than 3mg/100g D. M.
It was considered that these calves were cardiac type of white muscle disease caused by deficiencies of tocopherol and selenium.
