Contagious equine metritis

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Contagious equine metritis (CEM) is a type of metritis (uterine inflammation) in horses that is caused by a sexually transmitted infection. It is thus an equine venereal disease of the genital tract of horses, brought on by the Taylorella equigenitalis bacteria and spread through sexual contact. The disease was first reported in 1977, and has since been reported worldwide. [1]

Contents

Signs

Signs in mares appear ten to fourteen days after breeding to an infected or carrier stallion. A gray to creamy vulvar discharge mats the hair of the buttocks and tail, although in many cases, the discharge is absent and the infection is not apparent. Most mares recover spontaneously, although many become carriers. Infected mares are usually infertile during the acute illness. However, the infertility only lasts a few weeks, after which pregnancy is possible.

Stallions do not show signs of infection. The first indication of the carrier state is lack of pregnancy in the mares covered by the stallion.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is made by taking samples for bacterial culture from all accessible sites. In mares, this includes the endometrium, cervix, clitoral fossa and sinuses. In stallions, samples are taken from the skin folds of the prepuce, urethral fossa, urethra, and the pre-ejaculatory fluid. Samples are refrigerated and transported to an approved testing laboratory within 48 hours of collection.

Blood tests for mares are available for detecting antibodies to Taylorella equigenitalis. Blood tests are not possible for stallions. These tests become positive 10 or more days after infection. If positive, they only indicate that the mare has had the disease in the past, and do not indicate whether the mare is a carrier now.

Treatment

Taylorella equigenitalis is susceptible to most antibiotics, although the carrier state in mares is difficult to eliminate. Most mares with acute endometritis recover spontaneously. Recommended therapy is to infuse the uterus with an antibiotic such as penicillin, cleansing the clitoral area with 2% chlorhexidine solution and then applying chlorhexidine or nitrofurazone ointment to the clitoral fossa and sinuses. The entire treatment is repeated daily for five days.

It is relatively easy to eliminate the carrier state in stallions using local disinfectant. With the stallion's penis dropped and the glans extended from the foreskin, the shaft of the penis, including the folds of the prepuce and the urethral fossa, should be cleansed daily for five days with a 2% chlorhexidine solution. After drying, nitrofurazone cream is applied to these areas.

History

The disease was first reported in 1977 on horse breeding farms in England, when an unusually high proportion of mares were not becoming pregnant. [2] CEM was also officially confirmed in Ireland and Australia in 1977. [2] It was found in United States in 1978 in horses imported to Kentucky from Europe. [3] A second American outbreak occurred a year later in Missouri but in both cases, the diseases were quickly eradicated. [4] In 2008, a Quarter Horse stallion standing at stud in Kentucky was found to be carrying Taylorella equigenitalis; an investigation of this case revealed infections in eight other US states, in eleven different breeds of horse. [5]

Related Research Articles

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Smegma is a combination of shed skin cells, skin oils, and moisture. It occurs in both male and female mammalian genitalia. In females, it collects around the clitoris and in the folds of the labia minora; in males, smegma collects under the foreskin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gelding</span> Castrated horse or other male equine

A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. The term is also used with certain other animals and livestock, such as domesticated camels. By comparison, the equivalent term for castrated male cattle would be steer, and wether for sheep and goats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semen collection</span> Process of obtaining semen from male animals

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strangles</span> Contagious upper respiratory tract infection of equines

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stallion</span> Male horse that has not been castrated

A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to female horses, known as mares, and castrated males, called geldings.

Equid alphaherpesvirus 3, formerly Equine herpesvirus 3 (EHV-3), is a virus of the family Herpesviridae that affects horses.

Equid alphaherpesvirus 4, formerly Equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) is a virus of the family Herpesviridae that cause rhinopneumonitis in horses. It is the most important viral cause of respiratory infection in foals. Like other herpes viruses, EHV-4 causes a lifelong latent infection in affected animals. These horses are usually the source for new infection for foals over two months old, weanlings, and yearlings. Symptoms include fever, loss of appetite, and discharge from the nose. Most infected animals recover in one to three weeks, but death can occur in environments with overcrowding and other stress factors. There are several vaccines available.

Equid alphaherpesvirus 1, formerly Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1), is a virus of the family Herpesviridae that causes abortion, respiratory disease and occasionally neonatal mortality in horses. Initial spread of EHV-1 by a newly introduced horse through direct and indirect contact can lead to abortion and perinatal infection in up to 70 percent of a previously unexposed herd. Abortion usually occurs in the last four months of gestation, two to four weeks after infection of the mare. Perinatal infection can lead to pneumonia and death. Encephalitis can occur in affected animals, leading to ataxia, paralysis, and death. There is a vaccine available, however its efficacy is questionable. The virus varies in severity from sub-clinical to very severe. Most horses have been infected with EHV-1, but the virus can become latent and persist without ever causing signs of infection. In 2006, an outbreak of EHV-1 among stables in Florida resulted in the institution of quarantine measures. The outbreak was determined to have originated in horses imported from Europe via New York, before being shipped to Florida.

<i>Tritrichomonas foetus</i> Species of protozoan parasite

Tritrichomonas foetus is a species of single-celled flagellated parasites that is known to be a pathogen of the bovine reproductive tract as well as the intestinal tract of cats. In cattle, the organism is transmitted to the female vagina and uterus from the foreskin of the bull where the parasite is known to reside. It causes infertility, and, at times, has caused spontaneous abortions in the first trimester. In the last ten years, there have been reports of Tritrichomonas foetus in the feces of young cats that have diarrhea and live in households with multiple cats. Tritrichomonas foetus looks similarly to Giardia and is often misdiagnosed for it when viewed under a microscope.

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Taylorella is a genus comprising Gram-negative, short rod-shaped, chemoorganotrophic bacteria that include species that are the causative agents of contagious equine metritis. The name Taylorella serves as a dedication to C.E.D. Taylor, the scientist who identified the only species originally included in this genus. They are non-motile microaerophiles that are able to be isolated in pure culture on chocolate agar..

Taylorella equigenitalis is a Gram-negative, non-motile, microaerophilic bacterium of the genus Taylorella, and the causative agent of contagious equine metritis (CEM) in horses. Phylogeny of T. equigenitalis includes being part of the Alcaligenaceae family.

Equine venereal diseases are sexually transmitted infections in horses. They include contagious equine metritis (CEM) and equine coital exanthema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metritis</span> Inflammation of the wall of the uterus

Metritis is inflammation of the wall of the uterus, whereas endometritis is inflammation of the functional lining of the uterus, called the endometrium. The term pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is often used for metritis.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penile sheath</span> Non-human mammal foreskin

Almost all mammal penises have foreskins or prepuces, although in non-human cases, the foreskin is usually a sheath into which the whole penis is retracted. In koalas, the foreskin contains naturally occurring bacteria that play an important role in fertilization. In some bat species, the prepuce contains an erectile tissue structure called the accessory corpus cavernosum.

A Foreign animal disease (FAD) is an animal disease or pest, whether terrestrial or aquatic, not known to exist in the United States or its territories. When these diseases can significantly affect human health or animal production and when there is significant economic cost for disease control and eradication efforts, they are considered a threat to the United States. Another term gaining preference to be used is Transboundary Animal Disease (TAD), which is defined as those epidemic diseases which are highly contagious or transmissible and have the potential for very rapid spread, irrespective of national borders, causing serious socio-economic and possibly public health consequences. An Emerging Animal Disease "may be defined as any terrestrial animal, aquatic animal, or zoonotic disease not yet known or characterized, or any known or characterized terrestrial animal or aquatic animal disease in the United States or its territories that changes or mutates in pathogenicity, communicability, or zoonotic potential to become a threat to terrestrial animals, aquatic animals, or humans."

Actinobacillus equuli is a gram-negative, non-motile rod bacteria from the family Pasteurellaceae.

References

  1. Snider, TA (August 2015). "Reproductive disorders in horses". The Veterinary Clinics of North America. Equine Practice. 31 (2): 389–405. doi:10.1016/j.cveq.2015.04.011. PMID   26210954.
  2. 1 2 Eaglesome, MD; Garcia, MM (August 1979). "Contagious equine metritis: a review". The Canadian Veterinary Journal. 20 (8): 201–6. PMC   1789568 . PMID   389400.
  3. Sugimoto, Chihiro; Isayama, Yasuro; Sakazaki, Riichi; Kuramochi, Shigehiko (May 1983). "Transfer of Haemophilus equigenitalis Taylor et al. 1978 to the genus Taylorella gen. nov. as Taylorella equigenitalis comb. nov". Current Microbiology. 9 (3): 155–162. doi:10.1007/BF01567289. S2CID   34944309.
  4. "Contagious equine metritis". Horsetalk.co.nz. 7 March 2012.
  5. Timoney, PJ (May 2011). "Horse species symposium: contagious equine metritis: an insidious threat to the horse breeding industry in the United States". Journal of Animal Science. 89 (5): 1552–60. doi:10.2527/jas.2010-3368. PMID   20889687. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg