MILK FEVER

also called Parturient Paresis, in cattle, a disorder characterized by abnormally low levels of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia). It occurs in cows most commonly within three days after they have calved, at a time when the cow's production of milk has put a severe strain on its calcium stores. The early symptoms include loss of appetite and depression or restlessness, followed by muscle weakness and spasms of the hindlegs. In acute cases the hindlegs become paralyzed and the cow collapses into coma, followed by death. The death rate in untreated animals may run as high as 90 percent. Fever is not a symptom in this disorder. The most effective treatment is the intravenous injection of calcium gluconate, upon which the animal makes a speedy recovery. There is no effective means of preventing milk fever, but modern treatment methods have made deaths from it a rarity in the developed nations.