Lightning related fatalities in livestock: Veterinary expertise and the added value of lightning location data E. Vanneste a , P. Weyens a , D.R. Poelman b , K. Chiers c , P. Deprez d , B. Pardon d, * a Veterinary Expertise Agency, P.P. Rubenslaan 29, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium b Royal Meteorological Institute, Ringlaan 3, B-1180 Brussels, Belgium c Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium d Department of Large Animal Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium ARTICLE INFO Article history: Accepted 17 October 2014 Keywords: Lightning related fatality Livestock Cattle Lightning location data Veterinary expertise A B ST R AC T Although lightning strike is an important cause of sudden death in livestock on pasture and among the main reasons why insurance companies consult an expert veterinarian, scientific information on this subject is limited. The aim of the present study was to provide objective information on the circumstantial ev- idence and pathological findings in lightning related fatalities (LRF), based on a retrospective analysis of 410 declarations, examined by a single expert veterinarian in Flanders, Belgium, from 1998 to 2012. Pre- dictive logistic models for compatibility with LRF were constructed based on anamnestic, environmental and pathological factors. In addition, the added value of lightning location data (LLD) was evaluated. Pathog- nomonic singe lesions were present in 84/194 (43%) confirmed reports. Factors which remained significantly associated with LRF in the multivariable model were age, presence of a tree or open water in the near surroundings, tympany and presence of feed in the oral cavity at the time of investigation. This basic model had a sensitivity (Se) of 53.8% and a specificity (Sp) of 88.2%. Relying only on LLD to confirm LRF in livestock resulted in a high Se (91.3%), but a low Sp (41.2%), leading to a high probability that a neg- ative case would be wrongly accepted as an LRF. The best results were obtained when combining the model based on the veterinary expert investigation (circumstantial evidence and pathological findings), together with the detection of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning at the time and location of death (Se 89.1%; Sp 66.7%). © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Lightning strike is an important cause of sudden death in cattle on pasture (Finelle and Tartera, 2001). Since lightning related fa- talities (LRF) in livestock are mostly covered by fire insurance, an independent veterinarian, referred to in this context as the ‘expert veterinarian’, is asked to perform an investigation to determine whether the case complies with death due to lightning (veteri- nary expert investigation) (Schelcher, 1994). Over the last 10–15 years the importance of forensic veterinary medicine has in- creased, mostly because of an increasing tendency for owners to seek compensation for animal losses (Cooper and Cooper, 2008). In practice, LRF is among the most frequent reasons for forensic vet- erinary medicine, confronting not only veterinary specialists in forensic medicine, but also local veterinary practitioners. Despite its importance, very little scientific information is avail- able to help expert veterinarians in their judgment of LRF insurance cases (Best, 1967; Appel, 1991; Schelcher and Tartera, 2001; Van Alstine and Widmer, 2003; Zele et al., 2006; Gomes, 2012), with only three studies emphasising the task of the expert veterinarian (Schelcher, 1994; Volat, 1994; Finelle and Tartera, 2001). Light- ning related injury or death may occur through five primary mechanisms: (1) direct strikes are the most straightforward; (2) side flashes emanating from tall objects (e.g. trees) hit by lightning are possible; (3) ground currents (step potentials or step voltages) occur with each strike and are the most common mechanism in four- legged species; after injection of current into the earth, a potential gradient develops, which can initiate current entering the animal from one set of feet, leaving the body by the other set of feet; in contrast to human beings, this current crosses essential organs, such as the heart and liver, more frequently causing death (Gomes, 2012); (4) contact, from touching long conductors, such as railings, cables and fences; and (5) upward leaders, which emanate from high ground and tall objects when downward leaders approach ground; even if upward leaders do not connect with a downward leader, they * Corresponding author. Tel.: +32 9 2647588. E-mail address: bart.pardon@ugent.be (B. Pardon). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.10.024 1090-0233/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The Veterinary Journal 203 (2015) 103–108 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect The Veterinary Journal journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tvjl