Bovine posterior paralysis due to organophosphate poisoning
Nicholson, S.S.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 165(3): 280-281
1974
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-1488 PMID: 4845682 Document Number: 81572
A mild posterior weakness which progressed over 2-14 days to flaccid paralysis of the hind limbs occurred in a herd of 42 beef cows. There was no loss of appetite. A crouched stance with partial flexion of the stifles and hocks and a slightly arched back were characteristic; a partially raised tail with dribbling of urine was common. There were no gross lesions, but histological examination revealed axonal degeneration in the grey matter of the ventral horn and demyelination of dorsal ascending tracts in the lumbar spinal cord. Molasses fed to the herd were stored in barrels which had previously held hydraulic fluid containing tri-o-tolyl phosphate: this has been reported to cause posterior paralysis in pigs (V.B. 43, abst. 4178).