Postpartum haemoglobinuria in dairy cows of the Bio-Bio region, Chile

Bovine postpartum hemoglobinuria is a metabolic disorder observed sporadically in dairy cows up to 6 weeks postpartum associated to increasing milk production. It is characterized by an acute intravascular hemolytic anemia with hemoglobinuria. It presentation has been associated to diets with low content of phosphorus, cooper or selenium, as well as the ingestion of hemolytic substances present in some plants of the genus Brassica commonly used as forages (turnips, rapeseed). The aim of this work is to describe clinical aspects related to the presentation of this disease in three dairy herds with hypophosphatemia induced by the inclusion of sugar beet by-products in the diet.