02/25/12, 07:39 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: tn at last
Posts: 455
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Trichomoniasis (Trich)1
M.B. Irsik, DVM, MAB and Jan K. Shearer, DVM2
Bovine trichimoniasis is a venereal disease of cattle characterized by a period of pronounced infertility following natural breeding. The infertility is not due to problems in conception, but rather due to early embryonic death or abortion, which may lead to post-breeding pyometras and prolonged inter-estrus intervals. Because it causes virtually no systemic illness, it is often present in a herd for a considerable time, causing devastating losses due to poor calf crops and prolonged calving seasons before it is suspected and diagnosed. Identified risk factors for trichimoniasis include, age of bulls (older bulls are a higher risk of infection) herd size (herds with a larger number of cattle have a greater probability of infections) and shared grazing that results in increased exposure to potentially infected bulls. Trichimoniasis has been diagnosed in every state in the United States. The earliest problem herds were primarily dairy, but with the increased use of artificial insemination, the infection rates in dairy herds have been drastically reduced. Currently the disease seems to be maintained primarily in beef herds, especially those found in the western and southern U.S., where rangeland is open and natural breeding is common.
Steve
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