Correlation of the presence of seminal white blood cells and the prevalence of separated spermatozoal heads with subclinical Brucella ovis infection in rams.
A breeding soundness evaluation was conducted on 824 Colorado range rams. These rams were determined to be free from epididymitis via testicular palpation. Semen evaluation included microscopic observation for the presence of WBC. Of the 824 rams, 15.5% failed the breeding soundness evaluation on the basis of the semen evaluation: 10.6% had WBC in the semen and 4.9% had poor sperm morphology. The prevalence of Brucella ovis isolation varied from 0% to 16.2% within flocks. The prevalence of subclinical B ovis infection was 10% in the control flocks. Brucella ovis was isolated from 71.9% of the rams that had WBC in their semen. From this study, it appeared that palpation and vaccination may be inadequate for control of ram epididymitis.
D000818:Animals; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D012661:Semen / Q000166:cytology*; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D013077:Sperm Head / Q000473:pathology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000473:pathology*