Carência de cobre em bovinos de corte no Nordeste da Bahia

Abstract

Minerals are essential in cattle feeding, but fodder not always concentrate the ideal amount of minerals to be consumed daily by animals. Regarding this theme, the present study has the objective of reporting an outbreak of copper deficiency in bovines occurring in the backlands of Bahia. For this, a bibliographic review was performed, and the data on the SPV/CGA/HUMV referring to the outbreak were collected. Of a total of 87 animals raised in an extensive system, 11 died. Two were necropsied and samples were taken from the liver, lung, heart, kidney, intestines, central nervous system and lymph nodes for histopathological examination. In histopathology, alterations such as hemosiderosis in the lymph nodes, cardiomyocyte necrosis and corneal ulceration could be noticed. The Cu content in the liver of a bovine was 18.9 ppm. In the soil analysis, a value of the copper content was presented equal to 0.2 mg / dm3, iron 30.1 mg / dm3, molybdenum 6.7 mg / dm3 and pH 4.7. There were no significant changes in haematological and plant analyzes, mean Cu levels were 9.93 ppm. The determination of Cu levels in liver samples was the complementary value analysis in the determination of the diagnosis. Other animals in the affected batch were treated with Cobalzan® and recovered. The occurrence of the disease in the region draws the cattle community's attention to the mineral supplementation in the cattle raised extensively in the Brazilian Northeast.