PARAQUAT POISONING IN DOGS

A dachshund dog and a German shepherd dog consumed baits and water con taminated with paraquat, quite at the same time. Three days later, bot h dogs showed tachypnoea and anorexia. Rough rale was observed above t he lungs and dulled resonance within the borderlines of lungs. After g radual deterioration of the above clinical symptoms, dogs died 11, as well as 12 days after the poison intake.The gross-pathological examina tion revealed significant congestion in the enlarged lungs. Dark red, compact areas, slightly protruding above the surface of lungs were obs erved in the apical and diaphragmatic lobes, surrounded by a haemorrha gic areola and showing a relatively dry cut surface (Fig. 1.) Cardiac dilation and passive. congestive plethore were found in the other orga ns. The histopathological examinations revealed significant enlargemen t of the pulmonal interstitium (Fig. 3) due to fibrosis, as compared t o the healthy lungs (Fig. 2), appearance of epithelial cells incompete nt for respiratory metabolism in place of the desquamated alveolar epi thelial cells, presence of serous-bloody content with fibrin and debri s of decomposed epithelial cells in the lumen of alveoli and larger ai r passages (Fig. 4). The toxicological investigation detected 1300 mg/ kg of paraquat in the baits found in the park. Analytical investigatio n of the organs (liver, kidneys, as well as gastric content) of dead d ogs was negative. The observed clinical symptoms and the pathomorpholo gical changes corresponded to the subucute form of paraquat poisoning.