title: Contagious equine metritis--outbreak of the disease in Kentucky and laboratory methods for diagnosing the disease.
abstract: Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) was initially reported during the 1977 breeding season in England (Crowhurst, 1977) and Ireland (Timoney, Ward & Kelly, 1977. The disease has also been diagnosed in France and Australia (Huges, Bryden & MacDonald, 1978). The first occurrence of CEM in the United States followed the importation or 2 stallions from France late in 1977 which resulted in an outbreak early in the 1978 breeding season (Swerczek, 1978). Mares usually develop clinical signs of CEM 8--10 days after being covered by an infected stallion, when a copious, greyish discharge is seen. Other mares may not show any outward signs of disease, but may have a shortened dioestrous period. Many mares recover spontaneously from the disease, but a small proportion become carriers of the CEM organism. The stallion does not show any clinical signs of disease, but remains a carrier. In this paper we recommend various laboratory procedures for the diagnosis of CEM in mares and stallions.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006736:Horses; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D007629:Kentucky; D008297:Male