Abstract
The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of macroscopic reproductive tract abnormalities in a sample of female cattle in the UK. To our knowledge, this type of post-mortem survey has not been conducted in the UK since the 1970s. Over the last 40 years significant changes have occurred with respect to management and genetics. Moreover, there have been changes in growth rates in beef animals, elevated milk yields and a decline in fertility in dairy cattle. It was hypothesised that differences may exist in the extent and type of lesions occurring compared with previous studies. Between May and July 2017, the reproductive tracts of cattle (Bos taurus) were examined post-mortem at an abattoir in the north west of England. All female cattle slaughtered on visit days were eligible. In total 680 tracts were examined, constituting 88% of those eligible. Macroscopic abnormalities were recorded using a standard format and definitions. The majority of cattle were a dairy breed (73%) with Holstein-Friesian accounting for over half of these. Median age at slaughter for dairy breeds was 5.1 years (range 1.7–13.8 years) and 3.9 years (0.92–16.8 years) for beef breeds. A total of 141 out of the 680 reproductive tracts examined exhibited at least one lesion, giving an overall prevalence of abnormalities of 20.7%, with 95% confidence interval (CI) 17.9–23.9%. This is double the last similar UK-based study carried out in the late 1970s. There were 20 different types of abnormality identified, with 207 individual lesions in 141 abnormal tracts. The ovary was the most common anatomical location displaying abnormalities, accounting for 70.2% of all abnormal tracts. Ovaro-bursal adhesions were the most common abnormality found at 5.3% (CI 3.9–7.2%) and half of these were classified as severe. The second most common lesion was follicular cystic ovarian disease at 4.6% (CI 3.2–6.4%), followed by anoestrus at 4.1% (CI 2.9–5.9%). Double the prevalence of macroscopic reproductive tract lesions is a concern. Greater use of post-mortem material for disease surveillance and further studies into risk factors, especially for the most prevalent lesions, is warranted.
Highlights
Infertility is the most common reason for involuntary culling in UK dairy cattle and is a significant economic drain on the UK cattle industry [1, 2]
Post-mortem of Bovine Reproductive Tracts macroscopic reproductive tract abnormalities ranging from 2.8% in Australia [6] to 64.0% in Libya [7], summarised in Mimoune et al [8]
Post-mortem examination was carried out on 680 of a possible 775 eligible female reproductive tracts from cattle slaughtered over the duration of time spent in the abattoir (88% of all possible eligible specimens examined)
Summary
Infertility is the most common reason for involuntary culling in UK dairy cattle and is a significant economic drain on the UK cattle industry [1, 2]. Infertility and sterility may manifest at a macroscopic level and may be identified on examination of abattoir specimens [3,4,5]. Several abattoir surveys of cattle have taken place around the world previously, with the prevalence of. To the authors’ knowledge, the last UK-based survey of macroscopic abnormalities of female bovine reproductive tracts was carried out over 40 years ago by Al-Dahash and David [9]. Examination of 8,071 tracts revealed an overall abnormality prevalence of 10%, with follicular cystic ovarian disease reported to be the most common finding at 3.8% [9]. In the past four decades since this survey was conducted, genetic improvements in conjunction with the advancement of farm management strategies has significantly enhanced the genotype and phenotypic performance of both dairy and beef breeds of cattle in the UK. Wathes et al [11] have reported that genetic advances in beef animals have resulted in demonstrably higher and more efficient growth rates [summarised in Wathes et al [11]]
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