title: High prevalence of Tritrichomonas foetus infection in Asturiana de la Montaña beef cattle kept in extensive conditions in Northern Spain.
abstract: Bovine trichomonosis (BT) and bovine genital campylobacteriosis (BGC) are sexually transmitted diseases that can be important infectious causes of reproductive failure in extensively managed beef cattle where natural mating is a common practice. However, their prevalence in Europe was thought to be insignificant or very low. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors associated with BT and BCG in a representative beef cattle breed, Asturiana de la Montaña (AM), which is usually managed extensively in the mountain areas of Northern Spain and putative risk factors associated with the two diseases are present on most farms holding AM cattle. Preputial smegma samples were collected from 103 bulls belonging to 65 herds. Pathogen detection was undertaken using culture and PCR. Two scraping methods for sample collection (AI pipette and plastic scraper), as well as different culture media and DNA extraction methods were evaluated on field samples. Campylobacter fetus veneralis infection was not detected in any animal in any herd. However, Tritrichomonas foetus infection was demonstrated in 32% (33/103) and 41.5% (27/65) of bulls and herds tested, respectively. AM bulls older than 3 years (39.7%) were more likely to be infected than young bulls (16%) (OR=3.45, CI=1.07-11.19). An increase in repeat breeder cows was reported in herds from which T. foetus was detected (OR=5.2, CI=1.5-17.18). These findings highlight the re-emergence of this disease in extensively managed beef cattle in Spain. For routine diagnosis, the use of a culture technique and PCR in combination is advisable for testing smegma samples under field conditions.
authors.affiliation: SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesús A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mendoza-Ibarra
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pedraza-Díaz
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: García-Peña
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rojo-Montejo
authors.forename: Jose A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Santa-Quiteria
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: San Miguel-Ibáñez
authors.forename: Vanesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Navarro-Lozano
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ortega-Mora
authors.forename: Koldo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Osoro
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Collantes-Fernandez
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002168:Campylobacter fetus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods* / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000662:veterinary; D012902:Smegma / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D016835:Tritrichomonas foetus / Q000302:isolation & purification*