Brower Alexandra, Struthers Jason, Schmidt Jemima
Department of Pathology and Population Medicine, Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine, Diagnostic Pathology Center, 5725 West Utopia Rd, Glendale, AZ, 85308, USA.
Phoenix Police Department, Property Crimes Bureau, Animal Cruelty Investigations, Cave Creek, AZ, USA.
Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2017 Dec;13(4):450-453. doi: 10.1007/s12024-017-9923-0. Epub 2017 Oct 3.
In May 2016, thirteen dogs housed in backyards within a single neighborhood were reported to have developed convulsions and died within a 24 h period. An investigation of the scene by law enforcement resulted in submission of eight dogs for postmortem examination. It was suspected that a rapid acting toxin was the cause of death. A gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS) protocol combined with thin-layer chromatography that allows screening for common convulsants failed to identify a toxin in either pooled gastric content or liver samples from select cases. After consultation with a veterinary toxicologist, sodium fluoroacetate poisoning was investigated. Sodium fluoroacetate, also known as 1080, is a pesticide that was available in the United States from the 1940's to the 1970's, but since 1972 has been banned or under EPA restricted use. When gastric content was re-tested using a GC-MS protocol with selective fluoroacetate ion monitoring and carbon 14 radiolabeling to facilitate quantification, 379 ppb sodium fluoroacetate was detected in a pooled gastric content sample. In spite of its banned status, sodium fluoroacetate remains a rarely reported cause of malicious poisoning in domestic dogs in the United Sates. This compound is highly toxic and is capable of causing death in dogs, humans, other mammals, and insects in ingested quantities as small as a few droplets. Even when geographic or historical proximity to a source is not evident, this intoxication should be considered in dogs exhibiting compatible clinical signs.
2016年5月，据报告，同一街区内后院饲养的13只狗出现惊厥，并在24小时内死亡。执法部门对现场进行了调查，送检了8只狗进行尸检。怀疑死因是一种速效毒素。采用气相色谱-质谱联用仪（GC-MS）结合薄层色谱法对常见惊厥剂进行筛查，但在部分病例的混合胃内容物或肝脏样本中均未鉴定出毒素。在咨询兽医毒理学家后，对氟乙酸钠中毒展开调查。氟乙酸钠，又称1080，是一种杀虫剂，20世纪40年代至70年代在美国可用，但自1972年以来已被禁止或受到美国环境保护局（EPA）的限制使用。当使用带有选择性氟乙酸根离子监测和碳14放射性标记以方便定量的GC-MS方法对胃内容物重新检测时，在一份混合胃内容物样本中检测到379 ppb的氟乙酸钠。尽管已被禁止使用，但氟乙酸钠在美国仍是家犬恶意中毒的罕见原因。这种化合物毒性极强，摄入几滴的量就能导致狗、人类、其他哺乳动物和昆虫死亡。即使在地理或历史上与来源地没有明显关联的情况下，对于出现相符临床症状的狗，也应考虑这种中毒情况。
