An outbreak of nutritional muscular dystrophy in dromedary camels

Abstract

An outbreak of nutritional muscular dystrophy (NMD) due to vitamin E/selenium deficiency in an intensive dromedary camel herd causing a mortality of 25 animals (22 calves and 3 adults) is described. From a total of 120 adult animals (84 females) 47 calved. 22 calves (younger than 3 months of age) showed clinical signs as weakness, reluctancy to move, muscular rigidity, progressive opisthotonus, stiff gait, difficulty to suck and to stand, ataxia, recumbency position, respiratory distress and death. Enteritis, pneumonia and sudden death were also observed in these animals. In the peripartum period 15 dams showed uterine prolapse, placental retention or clinical mastitis, 3 of which died later. Clinical peculiarities observed in these animals were opisthotonus, tail elevation and uterine prolapse, never described in dromedaries associated with NMD. Therapeutical dosages used (sodium selenite: 0.06 mg per kg subcutaneously, vitamin E: 640 mg of d-α-tocopherol per animal intramuscularly) and preventive dosage of 40 mg/kg of sodium selenite by oral route (by mineral block) resulted adequate in this species.