Re: The safety of oral calcium formate

A Short Communication was published in the October 2002 issue of the New Zealand Veterinary Journal entitled An investigation of the safety of oral calcium formate in dairy cows using clinical, biochemical and histopathological parameters (McIntyre and Weston 2002). It appeared to be comparing results directly with those of a prior communication (Scott and Van Wijk 2000). The following should be considered when comparing the two papers. Haptoglobins were propounded by McIntyre and Weston as definitive indicators of acute inflammation, yet current literature does not give consistent viewpoints as to their value. The authors cited instances where the haptoglobin concentration was measured in cases of infective disease. However, Skinner et al (1991) believed that haptoglobin concentrations increase as a result of the infection rather than the trauma. To further complicate matters Alsemgeest et al (1994) found that haptoglobin concentrations were elevated in cattle with chronic rather than acute conditions whereas Horadagoda et al (1999) believed the concentrations of acute-phase proteins were higher in acute inflammation. However, they found serum amyloid A was more reliable as an indicator of acute, rather than chronic, inflammation than was haptoglobin. Therefore, histopathology would appear to give much more conclusive evidence of mucosal inflammation than the determination of haptoglobin...