Abstract :
[en] Deficiencies of selenium (Se) and iodine (I) are widespread in livestock all over Europe. They have an impact on the animals’ health. Since the clinical signs of the deficiencies are rarely pathognomic, auxiliary exams, based on blood and milk samples are needed for the confirmation of the diagnosis. To evaluate the Se and I status, the plasmatic Se content, the erythrocytic glutathione peroxydase activity (GPX), and the inorganic plasmatic I (IIP) content are measured routinely. Other analyses, like e.g. the dosage of tri-iodothyronine (T3) or thyrotropine (bTSH) can be used. Once the deficiency is diagnosed, it can be corrected by several methods.
The first aim of the study was to evaluate the zinc, copper, Se, and I status of Wallonian dairy and beef herds and to correlate their trace element status to their health. The trace element status of the herds with pathologies was less good than that of healthy herds. Further, more herds with pathologies had deficiencies when compared to healthy ones. Dairy herds had a better trace element status than beef herds. Se and I deficiencies are among the most important ones and have the most severe sequels. Therefore, the subsequent parts of the study focussed on these two trace elements. The second aim was the establishment of a technique for the dosage of bTSH and of reference values in healthy cattle. Reference ranges for bTSH and for thyroxine (T4) have been determined in healthy adult cows and in healthy calves. Thereafter, the next aim was to compare the concentration of bTSH in newborn calves with goitre to those obtained in healthy calves, in order to validate a diagnostic test for this pathology. The bTSH allowed the discrimination of the two groups and to approve the diagnosis of hypothyroidism in some of the calves. The threshold value of bTSH for the diagnosis of hypothyroidism in the newborn calf has been fixed at 35 µU/ml. The fourth aim was to compare the I (IIP) and Se (plasmatic Se, GPX) status as well as the thyroid status (bTSH, T4, T3, rT3) in dried pregnant cows and their calves and in non-pregnant cows, that received normal diet and a diet enriched in Se and I. In those receiving a Se and I enriched diet, the T4 and the bTSH decreased while the IIP, the T3, and the GPX activity increased. In the group that received a diet with normal Se and I contents, only the GPX activity increased. At birth, calves from mothers receiving the Se and I enriched diet, had a higher IPP content and GPX activity, and a lower bTSH concentration than calves from the other group. The last aim was to compare the effects of two different forms of Se (sodium selenite versus seleno-methionine) and two different doses of Se (0.1 versus 0.5 ppm) on the health and the Se status of Se deficient Belgian Blue cows and their calves. The first two groups of cows received a ration with 0.1 and 0.5 ppm, respectively, of Se in the form of sodium selenite (Na-Se 0.1 and Na-Se 0.5), while the third group received 0.5 ppm of Se in the form of seleno-methionine (Y-Se 0.5). The Se content of plasma, colostrum, and milk was higher in the cows of group Y-Se 0.5 when compared to the two other groups. The Se content of the plasma was higher in calves from group Y-Se 0.5 when compared to the two other groups. The daily weight gain of the Y-Se 0.5 group was higher than those of the group Na-Se 0.1. The incidence of diarrhoea among calves in group Na-Se 0.1 was higher than in group Y-Se 0.5.
In conclusion, trace elements deficiencies are common in Wallonia and often they are multiple. They play a major role in the aetiology of multifactorial diseases diagnosed in the cattle herds. Deficiencies in Se and in I are most commonly implicated in clinical problems. The diagnosis of these deficiencies is determined by blood analyses. Therefore, the tests need to be differentiated according to their capacity to test the nutritional or the thyroid status. A simultaneous supplementation with I and Se, as well as the form of the supplemented Se, may modify the interpretation of the nutritional and the thyroid status. Better reproduction performances and a better health have been observed in herds with a normal trace element status. Furthermore, the advantage of the supplementation with Se in the form of seleno-methionine has been demonstrated in comparison to sodium selenite in deficient Belgian Blue cattle.
This study opened numerous perspectives. The measurement of bTSH should be implemented in laboratories in order to offer it as a routine analysis to the practitioning veterinarian, who could use this tool in the framework of many diseases other than goitre. From a fundamental point of view, the dosage of deiodinases would allow the understanding of the regulation and of the synthesis of the thyroid hormones in bovines, and identifying the role of Se and I in this process. Finally, following the discoveries concerning the seleno-methionine, the effect of organic forms of other trace elements in bovine supplementation should be investigated.
