Polo Horses killed by overdose of selenium - official conclusion

[csziggy]

Selenium Caused Horses' Deaths

By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 29, 2009

MIAMI, April 28 -- The 21 polo horses that mysteriously collapsed and died last week likely perished from an overdose of selenium in an incorrectly mixed vitamin supplement, according to information released by Florida state investigators and the Ocala, Fla.-based pharmacy that produced the supplement.

Florida state officials announced Tuesday afternoon that toxicology reports showed fatal amounts of selenium in all of the dead animals, but declined to discuss any links to the pharmacy -- which last week admitted providing the horses with a supplement containing an incorrect dose of one ingredient -- citing the ongoing investigation. Selenium is necessary for human cell function in trace amounts but is toxic in very large doses.

But later in the afternoon, Franck's Pharmacy Chief Operations Officer Jennifer Beckett said in an e-mail statement that, "in light of today's statement from Florida State Veterinarian Thomas J. Holt, we can confirm the ingredient was selenium." Beckett declined further comment.

Terrence McElroy, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said the selenium overdose was the "likely cause" of the deaths of the horses, who began collapsing as they were shuttled from a barn in Wellington, Fla., to an April 19 polo match at the prestigious U.S. polo championships.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042803482_pf.html

[mr_hat]

1. RIP then. Polo ponies lives are typically

nasty, short and brutish anyway.

I grew up in England back when, and the Queen's ponies were routinely put down before they were five.

[SPedigrees]

7. Oh come on, where are you getting this from!?

The horses in question were between 10 and 12 years old, described as being in the prime of life. Typically working horses are at their best with some years of experience and training under their cinches. (The one exception to this is the horse race industry.) A five year old is far too young to be reliable in the skills required of a competing polo pony.

[undeterred]

2. What kind of pharmacy makes a mistake that big?

[Fumesucker]

3. One run by human beings I suspect.. n/t

[SPedigrees]

8. Frighteningly the very pharmacy that has been filling scripts for my pony.

I'm wrestling with whether this mistake was a one-off, or whether I should switch pharmacies

[Codeine]

20. It's not a supplement used often in the US.

Presumably an error was made compounding an unfamiliar mixture.

[kestrel91316]

4. I should get the booby prize. I think I speculated on Se toxicity on Day One.

Something about Selenium and the heart came to mind, but I didn't look it up on the internets, being too lazy, I guess.

Sad. Completely avoidable.

[theoldman]

5. I take Selenium.

I hope the pharmaceutical company gets my dose right.

[csziggy]

6. It does make you wonder about compounding pharmacies

But then we have to be suspicious of commercially prepared supplements since we cannot be too sure who mixed them and where they were formulated.

[SPedigrees]

9. There are far less mistakes made annually by compounding pharmacists than pill counting pharmacists.

50-100 yrs ago ALL pharmacies were compounding pharmacies, before the rise of big pharma and their patented over-priced pills.

And yes you can be sure a licensed pharmacist mixed your compounding medicine! Who do you think, some clueless convenience store clerk?

[csziggy]

10. I am not slamming compounding pharmacies - I have a friend whose sight depends on one

And the pharmacy that made the mistake owned up BEFORE the official conclusions came out.

But there are no sources for medications that are foolproof. I'd definitely rather have medicine mixed locally by a compounding pharmacy than by a factory worker in China!

[SPedigrees]

16. Trouble is, all the raw ingredients come from labs in Asia.

Scarey thought, huh? But true. US pharmaceutical cos and compounding pharmacists alike import the same Asian/Chinese chemical components to make their products.

[csziggy]

18. Yes, that worries me more than anything

Especially after reading about Chinese manufacturing. Totally unregulated production has been proven to be dangerous and the Chinese do almost no regulation. :scared:

[DainBramaged]

15. I take it too, where's my dipstick, let me check my level.............

200 MCG a day, says on the bottle it does. 286% of the min. daily requirement. Since I'm not into polo, am I ok?

[Canuckistanian]

11. Grams, milligrams... what's the difference?

I think that pharmacist knows the difference now.

[csziggy]

12. The article says they were trying to replicate an expensive commercial supplement

I wonder if the formula was given to the pharmacy by the trainer and where the mistake came in? If the trainer gave the pharmacy a list of ingredients and amounts without telling the pharmacist the dosage, they may not have realized that selenium amounts were off by a factor of ten, one hundred or one thousand. Or it being a primarily human pharmacy, they may not have known safe dosages for equines.

I hope the pharmacy had good insurance!

[Canuckistanian]

13. Regardless, pharmacists are paid to know proper dosages

That's practically their only function. They're trained in LD-50 levels for each ingredient - or they can look it up.

Someone made a HUGE mistake here. I'm suspecting that a real pharmacist wasn't at fault here.

[csziggy]

14. I would not expect a pharmacy that specializes in human medicine

To have tables of dosages for every substance for every species. It would be easier these days to have access, but still not something I would expect.

[SPedigrees]

17. I'm pretty sure a pharmacy cannot accept a list from a trainer to mix an injectible.

Has to be a prescription from a veterinarian.

[csziggy]

19. There was an Argentinian veterinarian involved in the situation

I wonder if Florida law would have allowed him to write the script? And is it as stringent for a supplement rather than a medication? For equines rather than humans?

Over the years I've only used name brand supplements and medications prescribed by my veterinarian for my horses. I've never tried taking a list of ingredients to a pharmacy so I don't know what the rules are.

I did try formulating my own feed and having it mixed at a local mill. But a name brand feed company gave me feed for three horses for three months to do a comparison - at the end of the time the horses on the name brand feed looked better and were getting one third less feed than the ones on the home made formula. I've used that brand of feed ever since and my horses look great!

[SPedigrees]

21. Interesting questions.

I'm not sure about legalities concerning the Argentinian vet. I think that because the formulation was injectible that it would qualify as a drug rather than a supplement. I'm not sure what the rules would be for mixing a supplement intended for oral use. I've been prescribed several compounded drugs by veterinarians and doctors over the years, but never a vitamin formulation.

Interesting how you mixed your own feed for your horses. I've cooked my own dog and cat food since the petfood contamination debacle in 2007, and mix my own grain for my pigeon, but my one remaining equine eats commercially prepared alfalfa pellets.