Polioencephalomalacia associated to metabolic acidosis in bullfighting bulls

Abstract

Polioencephalomalacia or cerebrocortical necrosis is a non infectious illness associated to young ruminants in intensive breeding. Normally the cause is unknown although it is associated to alteration of the food that can lead to metabolic acidosis. The clinical signs more frequents are the associated to general metabolic disorders and alterations of the main nervous system, however can also be affected different organs, making injuries like: liver abscesses, kidney injuries, injuries in extremities and horns, rumenitis and gastrointestinal ulcers, what can produce sudden death. Metabolic acidosis is a pathology that appears in the final phase of finish consequently of foods with high quantity of carbohydrates used to increase the growth of the animals in the last months previous to the fight. The objective of the present study is the descriptions of the injuries of polioencephalomalacia in an acidosis metabolic process that produces nervous signs in bullfight. This study shows the case of a chronic polioencephalomalacia in bullfighting bull farms as a result of a metabolic acidosis. In the 400 cows and 15 stud bulls farm were affected 35 animals that were from three to fours years old, 20 of those died. The illness starts with diarrhoea, appearing later clinical signs of affectation of the main nervous system, like blindness and non coordination. The necropsy was made to de death animals and samples were taken for the microbiologic culture, immunohistochemical analysis and histopathological study. Different macroscopic injuries were observed like liver abscesses and encephalic soft zones. At microscopic level the changes at the main nervous system were emphasized, showing the increase of the meninges, zones of laminar malacia, neuronal necrosis, gliosis and satellitosis phenomenon in the deep stratum, also edema, hemorrhage and perivascular cuffing of mononuclear cells.