title: Comparison of ultrasonography, bovine pregnancy-specific protein B, and bovine pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 1 tests for pregnancy detection in dairy cows.
abstract: At Days 26 to 58 after AI, 138 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were repeatedly examined by ultrasonography, using a 7.5 MHz linear-array rectal transducer. The total calving rate was 37.6% (52/138), and late embryonic mortality occurred 8.6% of the cows (12/138). On the days of ultrasound scanning, blood samples were drawn from the jugular vein for measuring the concentration of bovine pregnancy-specific protein B (bPSPB) and bovine pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 1 (bPAG 1). When compared with calving results, there were no significant differences in accurate diagnosis of pregnant cows were found between the 3 methods. However, when recognition of an embryo proper with a beating heart was used as the criterion for positive ultrasonographic diagnosis significantly fewer (P < 0.001) pregnant cows were correctly identified than by the other 2 tests. When compared with the noncalving cows, significantly fewer (P < 0.001) false positive diagnoses were made by the 2 ultrasonographic tests than by the PSPB and bPAG 1 tests, while significantly fewer (P < 0.001) false positive diagnoses were made by the bPSPB test than by the bPAG 1 test. The accuracy of detecting nonpregnant animals by both protein tests was limited by the relatively long half-life of these proteins after calving and by early embryonic mortality.
authors.affiliation: University of Veterinary Science, Department of Obstetrics and Reproduction, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Szenci
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Beckers
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Humblot
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sulon
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sasser
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Taverne
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baltusen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schekk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000097:blood*; D002417:Cattle / Q000097:blood*; D003612:Dairying / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D011247:Pregnancy; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D011258:Pregnancy Tests / Q000662:veterinary*; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000097:blood*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; C094766:pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 1