Pregnancy toxemia in goats and sheep in Argentina: epidemiology, pathogenesis, and regional insights
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30972/vet.3719100Keywords:
metabolic disease, small ruminants, hepatic lipidosis, negative energy balance.Abstract
Pregnancy toxemia, also known as pregnancy-associated systemic disease (PASD), is a metabolic disorder affecting sheep and goats during the later stages of gestation, particularly in animals carrying multiple fetuses. This study describes seven outbreaks of pregnancy toxemia in small ruminants in northwestern and southern Argentina, diagnosed at the Animal Health Laboratories of INTA Salta and INTA Bariloche. Morbidity rate ranged from 3% to 24%, and mortality reached up to 100% among affected animals. Necropsy and histopathological examinations revealed severe hepatic lipidosis, with up to 80% of the liver parenchyma affected. Elevated hepatic enzymes and the presence of urinary ketone bodies confirmed the diagnosis in two outbreaks. Goats exhibited more severe lesions and a poorer therapeutic response than sheep. The disease occurred under both adequate and deficient nutritional conditions, suggesting the influence of multiple predisposing factors. These findings underscore the importance of appropriate early nutritional management and preventive monitoring during late gestation, and provide new regional data that contribute to a better understanding of pregnancy toxemia in small ruminants.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Gabriela Virginia Sandoval, Agustín Martínez, M. Felice, L. Homse , Luis Adrián Colque Caro , Diego Medina Vallejo, Agustín Avellaneda-Cáceres, Laura Sabrina Aguirre Castro, Juan Francisco Micheloud
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