Journal article
Abortions in Three Beef Cattle Herds Attributed to Selenium Deficiency
ND Giadinis, P Loukopoulos, EJ Petridou, N Panousis, K Konstantoudaki, G Filioussis, G Tsousis, C Brozos, AT Koutsoumpas, SC Chaintoutis, H Karatzias
Pakistan Veterinary Journal | Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad | Published : 2016
Abstract
An association between abortion and low selenium (Se) status in cattle has been suspected, but not confirmed previously. Abortion outbreaks in 3 Se-deficient beef cattle herds, between 2010 and 2013, are described. In total, 130 out of the 480 cattle aborted (27.1%): among these, 28/130 (21.5%) abortions were in herd 1, 47/150 (31.3%) in herd 2 and 55/200 (27.5%) in herd 3. Five aborted fetuses were examined grossly and histopathologically. Laboratory examinations for bacterial, viral and parasitic causes of abortions were conducted (fetuses, fetal membranes, cows’ blood) and were found negative. Moreover, blood samples from 18 aborting cows were examined for Se, vitamin A and vitamin E conc..
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