Swayback in two kids: Case report

Abstract

Swayback or congenital ataxia is a disease related to copper deficiency in small ruminants, characterized by neuroaxonal degeneration and demyelination. Affected animals present with severe ataxia, progressing to recumbency, blindness, anemia, and death. Copper is a component of the enzymes cytochrome oxidase, superoxide dismutase, tyrosinase, dopa hydroxylase, and the protein ceruloplasmin. In young animals, the disease has two presentations: the congenital form known as Swayback that occurs in newborn lambs and the late form called enzootic ataxia that affects lambs usually present after six months of age. In this work, the signs, macroscopic and microscopic lesions, as well as the levels of copper detected in serum and liver of a pair of kids of 2 and 20 days of age are described.