Occurrence and Antibiotic Sensitivity of Bacteria Present in the Cervical Mucus of Cows in Late Puerperium and Postpuerperal Period

Abstract

VIl!ek, Z., Svobodova, RMena: Occurrence and Antibiotic Sensitivity of Bacteria Present in the Cervical Mucus of Cows in Late Puerperium and Post puerperal Period. Acta vet. Brno, 54, 1985: 91-97. In this study 282 Czech Pied cows were investigated to determine the species representation and relative numbers of bacteria contaminating the cervical mucus during late postpartum and at the beginning of a new reproductive cycle. The occurrence of bacteria was relatively rare and their numbers showed· a decline in the period under study. A higher number of bacteria in the cervical mucus was found in late postpartum in cows not yet cycling. With restoration of the repro­ ductive cycle, however, the occurrence and numbers of bacteria decreased. Of the identified bacteria saprophytic and facultatively pathogenic species predominated; rarely pathogenic species were isolated. Of the antibiotics tested in vitro the best inhibitory effects were obtained with chloramphenicol and oxytetracycline. Reproductive organs, late postpartum period, bacterial contamination, insemination. Physiology of puerperium has recently been given much attention in connection with etiology, therapy and prevention of conditions complicating its course and subsequent fertility. In the present paper one important factor affecting the course of the postpartum period is considered, namely the bacterial microflora of the reproductive organs. This work is an extention of previous reports dealing with the dynamics of bacterial contamination of the uterus in cows in the early postpartum period (Vlcek 1969; Kudlac and Vlcek 1970; Filacek 1967; Kudlac et al. 1970); bacterial analysis of postpartum infections and intoxications; determination of the sensitivity to antibiotics of bacteria isolated from the reproductive organs of cows with and without complications during the postpartum period (VlCek 1962; Kubik and Grygar 1978); deter­ mination of stability of chlortetracycline introduced into the uterus; and the course of bacterial contamination of the uterus after the application of chlortetracycline (Vlcek and Valenta 1976; Vlcek and Nemecek 1976). De Bois (1961) found in two groups of cows that the uterine secretions of 40 and 58 % of animals were contaminated by polybacterial microflora on day 10 post partum, on day 20 bacteria were found in only 25 % of animals, on day 30 in 22 % of the cows. At first insemination, bacterial conta­ mination was found in 3 % of cows examined; at second insemination no bacteria were detected. Normal uterine secretions were collected from cows with no obvious postpartum complications. On day 10 postpartum the secretions contained bacteria in in 30 % of the cows, on day 20 in 19%, on day 30 in only 5 %. Lloyd et a1. (1968) cultured streptococci, staphylococci, micrococci, corynebacteria, pseudomonads and several Escherichia species from samples obtained by uterine lavage or endometrial biopsy of 106 postpartum cows. They observed a progressive reduction in the bacterial flora with advancing uterine involution. Bacteria were found in the uterus of 93 % of cows during the first 14 days after parturition, but that percentage declined to 9 % between days 46-60 post partum. Buchholz et al. (1979) observed Corynebacterium pyogenes often in mixed culture with anaerobes during the pathological course of the postpartum period in cows. Boitor et a1. (1976) found a positive direct correlation between the declining number the uterine bacterial population and the degree of involution in cows with physiological course of the post­ partum period and between the lochial leukocyte count and uterine involution. Georgiev (1978)