In Alberta, the occurrence of this problem varies from year to year depending on forage quality. Allergy Badly molded feeds often contain large numbers of fungal spores. Cattle that inhale these spores may develop a respiratory allergy or bovine interstitial pneumonia. This disease prevents adequate amounts of oxygen from reaching the blood stream. An infected cow will gasp for breath and the developing fetus may die due to oxygen deprivation.
Abortion usually follows in a couple of days.
Diagnosis is based on the clinical signs seen in the cow and a history of respiratory distress before abortion. Mycotoxins Many molds found in feeds are not toxic, but some varieties produce substances that can result in disease when ingested. These substances are called mycotoxins. Fortunately, the conditions necessary for mycotoxin production rarely occur in locally produced feeds. Therefore, reproductive difficulty due to mycotoxins in Alberta is an infrequent problem.