Suspected intoxication by Kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus) of dairy cattle in the Azores, Portugal

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of farms and affected cattle involved in a suspected outbreak of Kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus) intoxication on Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal.

Farm	Grazing type	Herd composition	Affected animals	Blood sample numbers^a
1	Free	6 suckler cows, 1 steer, 4 calves	6 cows, 1 steer	1, 2, 3 (cows); 4 (steer); 5 (unaffected calf)
2	Tethered	3 heifers	1 heifer	6
3	Free	8 heifers	2 heifers	7, 8
4	Free	1 heifer	1 heifer	NC
5	Tethered	6 heifers	6 heifers	NC

^a Number of the blood sample shown in Table 3.

NC = not collected.

Table 2. Characteristecs of cattle that died in a a suspected outbreak of Kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus) intoxication on Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal.

Case	Farm	Breed	Age and class	Duration of exposure (days)	Necropsied
1	1	Holstein	5-year-old cow, recently calved	2	Yes
2	1	Holstein	6-year-old cow, recently calved	4	No
3	2	Jersey cross	2-year-old heifer	6	Yes
4	3	Jersey cross	7-month-old heifer	2	Yes
5	3	Holstein	7-month-old heifer	2	No
6	4	Holstein	12-month-old heifer	1	No
7	5	Holstein	7-month-old heifer	3	No
8	5	Holstein	7-month-old heifer	3	No

Table 3. Haematology and serum biochemistry analysis results from affected animals involved in a suspected outbreak of Kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus) intoxication on Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal.

		Sample number
Analyte	Reference range	1	2	3	4	5^a	6	7	8
Red blood cells	5–10 × 10^6/µL	7.09 × 10^6	7.24 × 10^6	6.32 × 10^6	7.33 × 10^6	10.65 × 10^6	7.04 × 10^6	–	–
Haemoglobin	80–150 g/L	126	118	120	104	141	147	–	–
Haematocrit	24–46%	36.4	34.2	35.1	30.4	37.4	45.9	–	–
MCV	40–60 fL	51.3	47.2	55.6	41.5	35.1	65.1	–	–
MCH	9–26 pg	17.7	16.3	19.0	14.2	13.3	20.9	–	–
MCHC	300–360 g/L	346	345	342	342	377	320	–	–
RDW	16–24%	23.0	19.1	18.3	22.1	24.8	25.3	–	–
Leukocytes	4–12 × 10^9/L	9	10.3	7.2	9.5	10	2.8	–	–
Neutrophils	0.6–4 × 10^9/L (15–45%)	4.5 (49.6%)	4.7 (45.8%)	4.1 (57.5%)	4.3 (45.3%)	4.4 (43.6%)	0.4 (15.7%)	–	–
Eosinophils	0–0.17 × 10^9/L (2–20%)	0.8 (8.5%)	0.6 (5.5%)	0 (0.3%)	1 (10.5%)	0 (0.2%)	0 (0.9%)	–	–
Basophils	0–0.17 × 10^9/L (0–3%)	0 (0.5%)	0.1 (0.7%)	0.1 (0.7%)	0 (0.4%)	0.1 (0.6%)	0.1 (2.1%)	–	–
Lymphocytes	2.5–7.5 × 10^9/L (45–75%)	0.3 (3.1%)	0.2 (2.3%)	3 (41.2%)	2.8 (29.5%)	5.5 (54.4%)	1.9 (67.9%)	–	–
Monocytes	0.025–0.84 × 10^9/L (2–7%)	3.5 (38.3%)	4.7 (45.7%)	0 (0.3%)	1.4 (14.7%)	0.1 (1.2%)	0.3 (10.7%)	–	–
Platelets	100–800 × 10^3/µL	86 × 10^3	55 × 10^3	116 × 10^3	99 × 10^3	422 × 10^3	117 × 10^3	–	–
Total bilirubin	1.71–10.26 µmol/L	3.25	4.79	3.25	3.08	4.45	3.59	2.57	2.22
Urea	1–3.66 mmol/L	3	2.83	3.5	3.66	3.5	7.16	5.83	6.66
Creatinine	44.2–97.24 µmol/L	106.08	88.4	97.24	79.56	132.6	150.28	132.6	106.08
AST	58–100 U/L	99	90	99	68	53	90	221	177
ALT	25–74 U/L	42	33	28	27	15	40	79	60
ALP	41–116 U/L	60	59	46	59	190	66	147	180
GGT	22–64 U/L	15	16	19	12	19	26	22	20
Total protein	58–75 g/L	74	72	71	68	56	81	75	72
Albumin	24–35 g/L	38	33	33	32	37	43	35	34

^a Sample 5 corresponds to a bull calf from Farm 1 that showed no clinical signs. The remaining samples were from animals that showed clinical signs of intoxication.

ALP = alkaline phosphatase; ALT = alanine aminotransferase; AST  = aspartate aminotransferase; GGT gamma-glutamyl transferase; MCH = mean corpuscular haemoglobin; MCHC = mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration; MCV = mean corpuscular volume; RDW = red cell distribution width.

Figure 1. Kikuyu seeds in the ruminal content (arrows) of a cow with suspected Kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus) intoxication on Terceira Island, Azores.