Abstract
The effects of endometritis, pododermatitis and clinical mastitis on the conception rate and calving-conception interval of multiparous and primiparous cows after fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) were evaluated. Clinical endometritis was diagnosed by ultrasonography 20-40 days postpartum upon observation of fluid in the uterine lumen. Cows with clinical endometritis were treated intramuscularly with 2 mg/kg ceftiofur hydrochloride over three consecutive days. Forty-five days after delivery, multiparous and primiparous cows with normal uteri according to ultrasonography were selected for the study, filed and inseminated by FTAI. To identify animals with hoof problems and clinical mastitis and to define their respective groups, the cows were observed daily during morning and nightly milking for up to 60 days after FTAI, and animals with hoof lesions were treated. Animals with clinical mastitis were treated with intramammary infusion containing 88 mg cefquinome sulphate every 12 h after milking for four days. The conception rate of multiparous cows with clinical endometritis at 30 and 60 days after FTAI was negatively affected compared with that of healthy cows with pododermatitis. However, clinical endometritis did not influence the primiparous category, whereas pododermatitis and clinical mastitis did not influence the conception rate of any category at 30 and 60 days after FTAI. Differences were not observed between primiparous or multiparous cows in the calving-conception interval. Key words: Lactation, pregnancy, health, fertility.
Highlights
The postpartum period is critical for the remainder of a cow's reproductive life (Dohmen et al, 2000)
The groups were divided into healthy cows (n = 106), cows treated for clinical endometritis (n = 83), cows affected by pododermatitis (n = 97) and cows suffering from clinical mastitis (n = 70), within each category of multiparous and primiparous
The conception rate at 30 days after fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) of multiparous cows affected by and treated for clinical endometritis (18.8%) was significantly lower than the conception rate of healthy cows (41.6%, P = 0.0262) and cows affected by pododermatitis (41.7%, P = 0.0170)
Summary
The postpartum period is critical for the remainder of a cow's reproductive life (Dohmen et al, 2000). Uterine infections correspond to an increase in the calving interval; discard rate and services required per conception and to a reduction in production (Leblanc et al, 2002; Sheldon et al, 2008). Cows with lameness have a higher number of services per conception, longer period of service and increased incidence of metritis and mastitis than healthy cows (Souza et al, 2006). Another disease that can influence the reproductive performance of cows is mastitis, which is a major concern in dairy cattle production (Carneiro et al, 2004). The mechanisms by which mastitis interferes with embryonic survival and mortality are not fully understood, but studies have shown that there may be a relationship between mastitis and reduced pregnancy rates (Hansen et al, 2004)
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