A BRIEF REVIEW OF CHRONIC FLUORIDE TOXICOSIS IN THE SMALL RUMINANTS, SHEEP AND GOATS IN INDIA: FOCUS ON ITS ADVERSE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES.

In the rural areas of India, most of the poor villagers reared small ruminants, sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus) for the purpose of continuous domestic income. In the villages, the principal drinking water sources are hand-pumps, open-wells, and bore-wells. Water of almost all these sources is contaminated with fluoride (F) and most of them contain F beyond the threshold level (1.0 or 1.5 ppm). But due to the lack of other sources of drinking water, people also feed these domesticated animals with water from these sources. By drinking this water repeatedly over a long period of time, many types of deformities are born in the teeth and bones of these small ruminants. Due to which their teeth become weak, they start breaking and falling, the same animals start walking with a limp. These deformities are referred as dental and skeletal fluorosis, respectively. At the initial level of chronic F toxicosis, the most common health problems, gastro-intestinal discomforts, body weakness, polydipsia, polyuria, repeated abortion, etc. are also found in these ruminants. At the F range, 1.5-4.4 ppm, in drinking waters, the highest prevalence of dental and skeletal fluorosis in sheep and goats was found to be 28.3% and 25.7% and 32.9% and 29.1%, respectively. In rural and remote areas, certain industries and human activities are also potential sources of chronic F toxicosis in these flock animals. In India, 8.33% incidence of industrial fluorosis has been found in goat flocks due to industrial F exposure. The toxicity of F has a profound effect on the health of sheep and goats and their offspring, due to which the income from them is also affected, which is focused on in the present communication besides the brief and critical review of chronic F toxicosis, resistance to F toxicity, and prevention and control of fluorosis in these small ruminants. Findings of this review may useful in making and implementing a health program for the saving of health in these flock animals from chronic F poisoning or fluorosis in the rural areas of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]