Hi, I'm Dr Steve. MOst treatment of aflatoxin poisoning in goats is aimed at detoxifying or binding the aflatoxin that is still inthe digestive tract and stomach. This can be done with activated charcoal or silicates given orally. If it has been more than 12-24 hours since she ate the aflatoxin, then detoxifying the stomach and intestines may not be very beneficial becasue the aflatoxin is likely already in teh blood stream and the rest f the body.
I believe this is the case - therefore - what is the best form of treatment? Do you think she will survive?
Once the aflatoxin has been absorbed into the body, there is no specific antidote. The treatment is aimed at giving fluids to help dilute and flush teh aflatoxin out of the body tissues before permanent damage can occur. It is very difficult to say how well an individual goat will come out of a poisoning like this. It depends on how much aflatoxin was ingested, How healthy ther goat was before the exposure and how quickly treatment was initiated. IN addition to fluids and antibiotics , some goats have benefited rom antiinflammatory medicines like dexamethasone to help reduce swelling and inflammation that may be occuring .'
Ok thanks - I first noticed mild symptoms on Sunday evening - her condition deteriorated very quickly from when I arrived home on Monday evening - I took her straight to the vet on Monday evening however the vet did not administer fluids until Tuesday morning - she is a very healthy and active goat who has otherwise had no other health problems.
Treatment is very similar to what is already being done for her with the possible addition of either dexamethasone as an antiinflammatory or perhaps banamine as another antiinflammatory. . THis and keeping her hydrated and feeding good quality feed without aflatoxin in it to help keep up her strength is often all that canbe done while waiting for the aflatoxin to be broken down and excreted by the body.
Ok great - so we should hang in there? She is on fluids and nibbling at her food. The vet I have is not used to goats and is not sure if we should put her down or wait to see if she improves - I do not want her to be in any pain
SInce she seems to be slowly improving, there may be hope fo her as long as she continues to improve. Don't give up too soon. As long as she is alert and somewhat active, there may still be time for the medicines to help her deal with the aflatoxin.
Roughly how long does recovery take? How long is reasonable to allow her to recover without putting her through unnecessary pain?
Great thanks for this.
If she is not vocalizing (goats have a very low pain tolerance and typically vocalize when in pain) and is interested in eating , there should be no reason to give up yet and pur her down. GIve her the benefit of the doubt and keep treating her, especially with the fluids.
She is pressing her head against the wall and refuses to lie down however she is still nibling and apparently her condition is up and down..
she only vocalised in the car when taking her to the vet when we went round corners or braked as I imagine this caused her discomfort
If she continues to make any improvement on a day to day basis, I would recommend continuing the treatments. If she stalls out or quits improving, stops wanting to eat or starts to frequently vocalize as if in pain, then you may want to consider euthanasia. THis conditon can take 7-10 days to get full improvement (if that is going to occur). Again this depends on how much she ate, how concentrated the aflatoxin was and how healthy the goat was before this.
Ok I really appreciate your help - it has only been a few days and I do not believe she ate much. Do you think her symptoms align with aflatoxin poisoning? This is the only thing we can come up with - the vet can't confirm - however they believe it is a form of poisoning in the liver.
the reason we think aflatoxin is that we have had heavy rain and then humidity and an overall mould problem in the state
also i introduced a new batch of hay around the time she became ill
THe symptoms do sound like htis is a possibility and it is encouraging that she is slightly improving. If you give up too soon , nothing good can happen so keep on trying. Aflatoxin cna be tough to cure, but it is worth a try. I hope this has helped. If it has would you please click the accept button so I may receive credit for my answer. Thank you and good luck. If you have morequestions, please continue
Thank you I appreciate your help. I might get in contact in the future. I will press accept.
Hi Dr Steve,
My goat has now recovered from the neurological symptoms associated with the aflatoxing poisoning. She has now, however, developed a urinary tract infection. The vet has treated her with penicillan and she has recieved pain medication for two days in a row now which seems to put her at ease. She still has blood in her urin (infection only detected and treated yesterday) although she has now stopped eating which is something she has not done the whole time she has been sick.
Do you think she will be OK?
What is the best thing for me to do now. She is at home being nursed and I am hydrating her orally with a syringe which she doesn't seem to mind.
Regards,
Sarah