White muscle disease in a 3 year old Holstein bull

Abstract

This report describes the case of a 3 year old Holstein Bull that presented to the Cornell Farm Animal Hospital for respiratory difficulty and distress. The bull had a history of coughing up fluid, respiratory distress, and three weeks of weight loss. Clinical examination included a tracheal wash which revealed presence of ruminal fluid in the trachea, endoscopy allowed visualization of a dorsally displaced soft palate and laryngeal hemiplegia, and radiographs consistent with aspiration pneumonia. Blood was drawn and the selenium content was measured at 4.88ug/dL (Range: 12-25 ug/dL), which was drastically below the normal range. While selenium deficiency has not been previously described as a cause of laryngeal dysfunction in adult cattle leading to aspiration pneumonia, it has been shown to cause skeletal muscle dysfunction and immunosuppression.