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Provet for educational purposes only.
You should seek the advice of your
veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the
diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.
Lead poisoning is still seen in
animals despite increasing awareness and attempts to reduce human exposure Increasing
awareness about the dangers of lead to human health has resulted in a decrease
in the number of lead products in the environment. However, lead is still
common and it is found in :
- Artists paint
- Batteries
- Ceramic dishes (if incorrectly glazed)
- Contaminated food - farm fodder that has been in contact with
industrial pollutants, crops grown in soil near old lead mines
- Fishing weights
- Golf balls
- Gun shot
- Linoleum
- Lead roofing tiles
- Lead smelters
- Motor oil from lead-based petrol cars
- Old paint - poisoning can occur by licking old paint
- Old lead toys (eg toy soldiers)
- Plumbing equipment - repairs to lead water pipes in old houses disturbs
a protective layer of lead carbonate that usually coats the inside of the
pipes releasing lead into the water - this was a common source of
poisoning when lead pipes were still used.
- Solder
- Tops off wine bottles
Usually animals get poisoned by ingesting lead, but it can also be absorbed
across the skin or inhaled - a common source in the past was vehicle exhaust
fumes from lead-based petrol engines.
Lead is a heavy metal which can accumulate in the body over a very long
period of time. It interferes with the production of haemoglobin the the
bodies red blood cells which reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of the
blood. High concentrations of lead damage the central nervous system (brain)
and other nerves in the body.
Animals most often affected by lead poisoning include :
- Birds (eg swans ingesting lead fishing weights)
- Cattle
- Dogs
- Ducks
- Geese
- Sheep
Signs of lead poisoning include the following :
- Nervous signs
- Fits (seizures)
- Behavioural changes - excitation, walking in circles, head pressing,
vocalisation, aimless running or pacing around, aggression, muscle
spasms, weakness, paralysis, loss of reflexes, staggering
- Ocular signs
- Alimentary tract signs
- Salivation
- Vomiting
- Constipation or diarrhoea
- Abdominal pain
- Inappetance
- Death - can take several days
Birds get similar signs :
- Inappetance
- Ruffled feathers
- Weight loss
- Neurological signs - fits, staggering etc
- Death - can be rapid
These signs may occur with a variety of different disorders so the
diagnosis has to be confirmed by measuring the amount of lead in body tissues.
In dogs the following concentrations of lead are significant ::
- Blood - concentrations over 0.6 ppm in whole blood (the lead is bound to
the red blood cells)
- Faeces - over 35 ppm
- Tissues - over 10 ppm
- Urine - concentrations over 0.75 ppm
(ppm = parts per million)
Treatment is not always successful and depends upon the dose of lead that
has been taken. It includes :
- Drugs that bind the lead (called chelators)
- Intensive care to
- maintain an oxygen supply by tube
- intravenous fluids
- treatment to reduce brain swelling
- treatment to stop fits
- removal of any lead foreign body (eg a lead toy) that might have
been swallowed
Updated October 2013
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