Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) poisoning in cattle in southern Brazil.

Epidemiological data on Pteridium aquilinum intoxication in cattle the state of Santa Catarina were obtained by review of diagnostic records from 1987 to 2001. Of 3,407 necropsied cattle, 244 (7.16%) were diagnosed as intoxicated by Paquilinum; 122 of those were of the hemorrhagic form, 103 had tumors in the upper digestive tract, 19 were cases of chronic hematuria. Annual losses due to this intoxication in this State are estimated at 10,657 cattle. The highest incidence of the hemorrhagic form occurs in 1-3-y-old cattle between March and July, and most cases of tumors of the upper digestive tract affect cattle older than Sy. The highest incidence of digestive tract tumors is at the base of the tongue and pharynx, and the lowest frequency is in the rumen and esophagus. The large economic losses caused PaQuilinum in Santa Catarina call for improved control measures for the disease.