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Uterine infection with bovine herpesvirus type 4 in dairy cows
Author(s) -
Klamminger S,
Prunner I,
Giuliodori MJ,
Drillich M
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.12865
Subject(s) - endometritis , metritis , insemination , medicine , subclinical infection , artificial insemination , pregnancy , ice calving , vaginitis , dairy cattle , gynecology , obstetrics , biology , zoology , sperm , lactation , andrology , genetics
Contents Diseases of the reproductive tract are a frequent problem in dairy herds. Herpesviruses are uterine pathogens also involved in other clinical diseases; for example, bovine herpesvirus type 4 Bo HV ‐4 induces abortion, enteritis, metritis, pneumonia and vaginitis, but it can also be detected in healthy cows. The role of Bo HV ‐4 in the development of clinical endometritis ( CE ) or subclinical endometritis ( SE ) has not clearly been described. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of uterine Bo HV ‐4 infection and its relationship with clinical, bacteriological and cytological findings in dairy cows 20–30 days after calving. The experiment was performed as a completely randomized block design, with farm ( n = 10) as blocking criterion and with cow ( n = 397) as the experimental unit. Logistic regression models were used to assess the effect of Bo HV ‐4 infection on CE , SE and reproductive performance. Proportion of cows infected with Bo HV ‐4 was 5.8% ( n = 23/397). Bo HV ‐4 was isolated in 11.0% ( n = 12/109), 4.8% ( n = 4/84) and 3.6% ( n = 7/194) of cows diagnosed as CE , SE or healthy, respectively. A logistic model revealed that Bo HV ‐4 infection showed a tendency to increase the risk for CE ( AOR = 2.17; p = .10) but significantly reduced both, the odds for artificial insemination within 80 days post‐partum (dpp) ( AOR = 0.37; p = .035) and for pregnancy within 200 dpp ( AOR = 0.13; p = .004). Furthermore, Bo HV ‐4 infection increased the chance for intrauterine infection with Trueperella pyogenes ( AOR = 5.55; p < .001) and vice versa ( AOR = 5.79, p < .001). In conclusion, Bo HV ‐4 infection is associated with reduced chances for insemination and pregnancy by 200 dpp and showed a trend to be associated with increased risk for CE . Furthermore, Bo HV ‐4 and Trueperella pyogenes infections are strongly related.