Botulism in Cattle

Clinical and Diagnostic Approaches

Abstract

Botulism in cattle has been associated with the ingestion of contaminated carrion or forages.  This report describes the clinical signs and diagnostic approaches in three outbreaks of botulism in cattle where Clostridium botulinum Type B organisms were identified in each herd and specific toxin detected in the forage of one herd. In each of these outbreaks Type B organisms were
isolated from the silage which may have been improperly fermented. The key factor may be the lack of adequate fermentation to reach a low pH, thus inhibiting sporulation and toxin production by Clostridium botulinum. Botulinum organisms were also isolated from the rumen contents and feces of affected cattle which help confirm the diagnosis because normal cattle do not have botulinum organisms in the gastrointestinal contents. Mouse toxicity and neutralization testing was performed on a supernatant for the testing of serum. All the mice injected intraperitoneally with botulism toxin containing supernatant died within the 96 hour test period. Those mice receiving a mixture of the trypsinized tissue extract containing the monovalent antitoxin corresponding to the type of toxin present in the tissue survived the 96 hour test period.