A Brief Review of Chronic Fluoride Poisoning in Domestic Goats (Capra hircus) In India

Abstract

Shanti Lal Choubisa

In most villages of India, poor people generally prefer to raise domestic goats (Capra hircus) for sustainable income as they can be raised in less space and the cost of their maintenance is also low. Most of the livestock farmers also raise them as a business as they get sufficient income from their milk, meat, leather, fibre, manure, and bones. But when these animals are repeatedly exposed to fluoride contaminated water, air, and food, they suffer from chronic fluoride poisoning or toxicity in the form of a dangerous disease called fluorosis, which not only makes them physically weak but also deforms their bones and teeth. When the disease is severe, these animals often start limping. Thousands of animals in rural areas of the country have been found to be suffering from chronic fluoride poisoning. Due to this, their teeth get damaged and break down quickly, due to which these animals often die at an early age due to hunger and weakness as they are unable to masticate their food. But most of the livestock owners are not aware of this. Most of the hand- pumps, bore-wells, and perennial ponds in rural areas of the country are contaminated with fluoride. Its quantity in them is much more than the prescribed standards of 1-0 ppm or 1.5 ppm. In the rural areas of the country, many coal-burning industries and certain manufacturing units emit fluoride into the atmosphere, thereby contaminating the surrounding air, water, soil, vegetation, agricultural crops, etc. on which these animals depend. While grazing in forests and fields, these animals are usually exposed to these fluoride-rich sources. Excessive exposure or ingestion of fluoride usually results in fluoride getting deposited in the bones and causing a variety of deformities, collectively called skeletal fluorosis, causing the goats to limp. In the country, 25% and 30% of goats are found to be suffering from fluoride poisoning or fluorosis due to drinking of fluoridated water and exposure to industrial fluoride, respectively. Fluoride toxicity also has a profound impact on the productivity of these animals, affecting the economy of goat rearers. The present paper briefly reviews the various possible sources of fluoride exposure, chronic fluoride toxicity in goats and its prevention, and the economic losses due to fluorosis in goat farmers. It also highlights various research gaps on fluoride toxicity in goats to enable researchers to do more in-depth research on this subject.

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