Bacterial flora isolated from genital tract of cows submitted for artificial insemination in Balad district

Abstract

This study was conducted at the Veterinary Clinic for Artificial Insemination and Genital Diseases in Balad district for the period from 1st. January/2011 to 30th. June/2011. Vaginal aspirates were collected from vaginal fornix of cows during the estrus cycle attending the clinic for artificial insemination using frozen semen. A total of 90 cows were included, 60 of which were multiparous and 30 cows were heifers. The aspirate materials were streaked on Blood agar and MacConkey agar plates. Bacterial isolation and identification was based on standard bacteriological criteria. The study revealed that S. aureus was the most frequently isolated from heifers (36.7%), followed by E.coli (30.0%) and proteus spp. (6.7%). Whereas, 8 (26.6%) were culture negative. In multiparous cows, the highest bacterial isolates were E. coli (38.3%), and S. aureus (20.0%). Mixed bacterial growth was found in 40% of multiparous cows and 5 (8.3%) were culture negative. Multiparous cows with five previous deliveries had highest isolation rate (32.7%).