1080 Poisoning

[Sayreovi]

Ive recently moved to a place that does poisoning not far from the outskirts of town, now i didnt know this before i came so now am freaking out because i dont know what it would do dogs if they get the bait.

So what are the signs and are fatalities high in dogs? Or can they recover easily?

[lovebug]

wow tough one!!

wish i could answer!

i would really like to no my self

[persephone]

NOT pleasant !!!

1080 poisoning in dogs

An update - and successful treatment option?

ROB CHURCHILL, CATHERINE CORKHILL AND MADELEINE RICHARD

Introduction

Sodium fluroacetate (1080) is a highly toxic pesticide used to control pest animal species in many countries around the world it is regarded as the most effective vertebrate pest poison currently available. The compound was synthesised in Europe in 1896 and developed in the US as a rodenticide during the 1940s. It was first used as a rabbit poison in Tasmania in 1952 and is still used extensively across Australia for the control of pest animals in forest and agricultural production, as well as for biodiversity conservation.

1080 is a white, tasteless, odourless and water soluble powder that is usually incorporated into dried, fresh or processed meat baits to control foxes, wild dogs and feral pigs, or mixed with chopped carrots or oats to control rabbits.

The supply and use of 1080 is tightly controlled by a combination of commonwealth and state regulations. The Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicine Authority regulates 1080 up to and at the point of retail sale. Once sold or supplied to the end user, it comes under the regulation of individual states.

Under state poisons legislation, 1080 is a Schedule 7 poison and is available only to specialised or authorised users who have the skills necessary to handle it safely. Under the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Regulations 1995, products containing 1080 are also declared to be Restricted Chemical Products. As such, the products can only be supplied to or used by authorised person(s). Individual states set the authorisation criteria taking the APVMAs and state regulatory requirements into account.

Despite these regulations, poisoning of non-target wildlife and domestic pets is common and farm animal species can also be at risk. In NSW, an estimated 14,000 baits are laid per Rural Land Protection Board per annum, and 2002-2003 figures on 1080 use released by the Tasmanian Government indicated Forestry Tasmania used 23 per cent, farmers 47 per cent, and private forestry 30 per cent. In the same year, the Tasmanian Government also released statistics stating that 97,000 wallabies and brushtail possums had been poisoned by 1080, primarily through baiting programs aimed at targeting browsing and grazing native animals as part of forestry management. Phasing out of 1080 in Tasmanian forests has since commenced.

Canines are particularly susceptible to 1080 and the lethal dose for dogs has been calculated at 0.05mg/kg. Once consumed, it is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, impairing cellular respiration through disruption of the citric acid cycle with resultant CNS anoxia and cardiovascular disturbance. 1080 can also be absorbed from the respiratory tract and through cuts and abrasions.

1080 has no specific antidote and even in animals treated symptomatically, is usually fatal.

Dogs access baits through a variety of circumstances: lack of communication between neighbours, failure to erect signs warning of a baiting program, an incorrect assumption that time and heavy rains will render baits safe (rain or dewfall may leach 1080 from some bait materials such as oats, but when leaching does not occur, the baits can remain toxic for several weeks), movement of baits by birds and other wildlife species, and failure to keep pets and working dogs either muzzled or under control during a baiting program. Neglected vomitus containing the bait remains highly toxic, and there is a risk of secondary poisoning if dogs eat poisoned rabbits or wallabies.

The Crookwell district, on the NSW Southern Tablelands, is a prime sheep and cattle grazing and wool producing area with a long history of 1080 use. Toxicity in non-targeted farm dogs and pets occurs throughout the year, with the highest incidence seen before lambing as farmers conduct baiting programs to reduce fox numbers.

This article describes an effective treatment of 1080 poisoning developed by Rob Churchill of Crookwell Veterinary Hospital in 1994. Since the initial successful treatment regime was developed, veterinary staff Rob Churchill, Madeleine Richard and Catherine Corkhill now treat about four to six cases of 1080 poisoning in dogs each year with a survival rate averaging 75 per cent.

Diagnosis

Clinical signs of 1080 poisoning are usually noticed within half an hour of ingestion, although symptoms can take more than six hours to manifest. Initial symptoms include vomiting, anxiety and shaking. These quickly develop into frenzied behaviour with running and screaming fits, uncontrolled paddling and seizures, followed by total collapse and death from cerebral anoxia. Rigor mortis sets in quickly.

Given the severe status of most presenting patients, confirmation of diagnosis is confined to a visual assessment of symptoms and pertinent questioning of the owner: are fox baits laid on the property or on neighboring properties? Has the dog been out of the kennel, off the chain, missing or left unsupervised for any time that day? Have foxes been seen on the property as they may carry baits or vomitus? If the dog vomited at home, what did it vomit?

If symptoms and history match 1080 toxicity (clinical signs can be relatively easily distinguished from other common toxins such as organophosphates, metaldehyde and strychnine), and if there is a history of baits laid on the property or nearby, and the animal has not been totally supervised for the entire period, it is usually assumed the dog has consumed 1080. The urgency of treatment negates time spent on pathology such as blood gas measurements.

Treatment

Animals presented with a credible history of 1080 ingestion but showing no clinical signs are given an injection of apomorphine to induce vomiting and admitted for observation regardless of whether or not vomiting occurs.

Animals presented with more advanced symptoms including seizures, screaming, paddling and barking, are immediately anaesthetised with intravenous Nembutal ® (pentobarbitone sodium; Boehringer Ingelhiem). Once anaesthetised, an intravenous catheter is inserted and connected to a slow saline drip. Sodium bicarbonate (8.4% w/v ASTRA) is administered through the giving port at the rate of 300mg/kg half as a bolus, then the remainder slowly over approximately 20 minutes. The slow saline drip is continued, with the animal placed on a heat pad or cold towels depending on body temperature. Animals poisoned by 1080 often have elevated temperatures due to seizure activity. A broad spectrum subcutaneous antibiotic is given and the animal kept under close observation.

Clinical signs including temperature, heart rate, oxygenation via a pulse oximeter on the animals tongue and mucous membrane colour are monitored hourly. Artificial tears are applied to the patients eyes every one to two hours to maintain a moist surface and prevent corneal ulcers. The animal is turned from left to right lateral recumbency every four to five hours to reduce pulmonary congestion, pressure sores and muscle necrosis.

Patients are kept under anaesthesia and on I/V fluids until they wake up without paddling and seizure activity. The average time 1080 patients are kept under anaesthesia at Crookwell Veterinary Hospital is 19 hours (range 10-48 hours). Once an animal begins to recover it is usually able to stand and eat within 12 hours.

Patients are discharged when they can eat, drink, urinate and defaecate. They remain on antibiotics for 1 week recovered patients can develop a cough, possibly a result of the prolonged anaesthesia.

Note: Nembutal is no longer manufactured, presenting a treatment dilemma wrt the critical need to maintain animals under anaesthesia safely for prolonged periods.

Recovery and side effects

Most animals recover without complications or side effects. Several cases have developed complications:

• A 5kg female jack russell terrier was anaesthetised for 24 hours. The dog survived but developed corneal ulceration that eventually led to the ablation of the eye, and a stiff, rigid back leg that failed to regain normal function. The muscle damage is difficult to explain, but the corneal damage was due to drying of the cornea. Artificial tears are now applied frequently during the period of anaesthesia.

• Another patient monitored with regular pathology (blood tests at two days post ingestion of the bait, then at five days and 21 days post recovery) developed a mild to moderate hepatopathy with increases in ALP, ALT and amylase. The final blood test showed no abnormalities and 5 months later, the dog bred a litter of 10 normal pups.

Discussion

Seventy-five per cent of patients presented with 1080 poisoning at Crookwell Veterinary Hospital are successfully treated following the regime described. These statistics include those dogs presented near death and that subsequently die on or soon after arrival.

The APVMA is reviewing 1080 because of concerns over poisoning of non-target animals (see www.apvma.gov.au/chemrev/1080_FAQ.shtml). The review is examining a number of issues including persistence of 1080 in the environment, effects on non-target animals, poisoning incidents, effectiveness on biodiversity conservation and animal welfare.

1080 remains the most common vertebrate toxin used across Australia and sodium fluoracetate poisoning continues to be a challenging and difficult toxicity to treat.

Crookwell Veterinary Hospital: email [email protected]

Rob Churchill BVSc

Since graduating from Sydney University in 1974, Rob Churchill has spent 32 years in mixed practice. Career highlights include the first diagnosis, with pathologist David Best in 1976, of Babesia equi in horses in Australia, and development of a successful treatment for the toxin 1080. On behalf of the Veterinary Science Faculty, Churchill undertakes practical teaching sessions with final year veterinary interns in sheep and cattle handling and cattle pregnancy testing. Crookwell Veterinary Hospital sees 60 per cent large and 40 per cent small animals and an increasing focus on herd health. A passion for large animal parasitology has led Churchill to develop a successful large animal diagnostic and merchandising facet to the veterinary hospital business.

Catherine Corkhill BVSc

Catherine Corkhill graduated from Sydney University in 2001. She spent time in mixed practice in Cootamundra and since September 2002 has been a member of the veterinary staff at Crookwell Veterinary Hospital. Corkhills special interest is bovine reproduction and in 2004 she won the Coopers Australian Association of Cattle Veterinarians Rural Practice Scholarship. She is registered with the National Cattle Pregnancy Diagnosis Scheme, she is APAV accredited (Accreditation Program for Australian Veterinarians) and is undertaking AQIS Accreditation.

Madeleine Richard BVSc

Graduating in 1994 from Sydney University, Richard spent time in small animal practice at Ingelburn Veterinary Hospital before relocating to Crookwell in December 1996. Her particular fields of interest include diagnostic imaging, South American camelids (she is a member of the Australian Alpaca Veterinarians) and small animal internal and external medicine and pathology. In 2005 she completed the Post Graduate Foundation in Veterinary Science Distance Education Sonology course and within the Crookwell practice, she is responsible for developing ultrasonography in both large and small animals.

The Veterinarian (Sydney Magazine Publishers Pty Ltd). All rights reserved.

PO Box 5068 South Turramurra

NSW Australia 2074

+61 2 9941 2400

[Mizzi]

NOT pleasant !!!

Diagnosis

Clinical signs of 1080 poisoning are usually noticed within half an hour of ingestion, although symptoms can take more than six hours to manifest. Initial symptoms include vomiting, anxiety and shaking. These quickly develop into frenzied behaviour with running and screaming fits, uncontrolled paddling and seizures, followed by total collapse and death from cerebral anoxia. Rigor mortis sets in quickly.

We have it in our area as well. :D

That is one reason why it is SO important to keep dogs contained within their own property in a rural area.

Even so, there is the risk of foxes or birds carrying on to your property.

My friend lost three of her dogs to 1080 only recently. It really is a horrible poison.

If, dog forbid, you ever notice any of your dogs suffering from any of the above symptoms, rush them to vet ASAP.

[Paganman]

Yeah it will kill them once theyve eaten it theres not much hope for them.Horrible stuff I reckon it should be banned.

[oakway]

They are dead within minutes.

Depending in what the 1080 is put in.

Always be careful if 1080 is about because I know of some dogs that were killed with 1080 that had not been out of their owners yard.

Birds pick up the baits and sometimes drop them in any body's yard.

People usually think that somebody delibritly bated their dogs.

When it is usually a case of pure bad luck.

[KOE]

Apart from the above a dog that has had 1080 will normally try and hide in a dark place froths at the mounth and can become attack aggressive then death comes quickly.

Another thing that is used for bait is negavon this has similiar effect.

[Clyde]

They are dead within minutes.

Depending in what the 1080 is put in.

Always be careful if 1080 is about because I know of some dogs that were killed with 1080 that had not been out of their owners yard.

Birds pick up the baits and sometimes drop them in any body's yard.

People usually think that somebody delibritly bated their dogs.

When it is usually a case of pure bad luck.

This happened to one of my brothers working dogs A bitch with pups wasn't in her pen and she got to a carcass even though my brother hadn't laid any baits at that time. She died leaving her pups alone. Sadly my brother isn't the nurturing type with his working dogs and only two pups survived "Ten" and "Eighty"

[Blue Fox 001]

Crockwell Vet Hospital may have a 75% success rate but I would suggest it is very much lower for most vets. Maybe cause in the country it is often such a long way to the vet that there is no chance of early intervention.

1080 is used extensively through out National Parks (here in SA anyway - not sure about other states) and it is a horrific death for any animal - I deplore the stuff. Don't take your dogs into National Parks, I know your not suppose to anyway, but a lot of people do and they are playing with their dogs lives.

Have seen a few come in to the vets in my early days and honestly there is not a much worse site IMO - with very little hope of a successful outcome.

[Sayreovi]

Ohh geez thats really scary.....they arent dropped within a 10km radius from town, would a bird carry a bait that far?

We have a vet here so i will go in tomorrow and find out more about their facilities, if they dont have anything then the nearest town that has another vet is 2 1/2 hours away

[persephone]

A lot depends on WHAT species are targeted by the 1080.

AFAIK..if the baits are for carnivores..they are usually either the segmented chicken wingtip..or eggs.

Done CORRECTLY (hardly ever) each bait should be buried shallowly..and marked by a coloured ribbon or stake.

next day or whenever, unused baits are collected and removed., along with any carcases.!

Good plan..but from what i hear..a lot are broadcast from cars or planes

Now.. 10 80 for herbivores is in a carrot mix.

Unfortunately , animals killed in this manner can then be carried to civilisation by hawks/crows/maggies/other dogs.... then their popisoned bones/meat can be eaten .

[Blue Fox 001]

Ohh geez thats really scary.....they arent dropped within a 10km radius from town, would a bird carry a bait that far?

We have a vet here so i will go in tomorrow and find out more about their facilities, if they dont have anything then the nearest town that has another vet is 2 1/2 hours away

tollersowned where are you if you don't mind? You can PM me if you prefer, I see rural SA in your details, as I am, and just wondering if your close.

[Sayreovi]

I am in Roxby Downs.

I got told there is alot of foxes around so maybe its carnivore bait?

[Blue Fox 001]

I am in Roxby Downs.

I got told there is alot of foxes around so maybe its carnivore bait?

I know around here it's usually for foxes and they just use meat on the ground, no burying, that would be way to sensible.

[persephone]

I got told there is alot of foxes around so maybe its carnivore bait?

Most likely........

here.. just found this..........think this is 'old' but it is interesting ...if you can bear reading it....

http://www.echidna.edu.au/projects/feral/feral_galbraith.pdf

[KOE]

Ohh geez thats really scary.....they arent dropped within a 10km radius from town, would a bird carry a bait that far?

We have a vet here so i will go in tomorrow and find out more about their facilities, if they dont have anything then the nearest town that has another vet is 2 1/2 hours away

CROWS

[persephone]

know around here it's usually for foxes and they just use meat on the ground, no burying, that would be way to sensible.

yep..there a few conscientious property owners out here who do it thoughtfully.......most just get a boxful and toss them out the window as they drive along

[Mizzi]

Ohh geez thats really scary.....they arent dropped within a 10km radius from town, would a bird carry a bait that far?

Hard to imagine that they would. We live about 10km from town and I've never heard of an animal getting baited there.

Unfortunately, we have baits on the property straight across the road from us.