Vaccination programs, parity, and calving season as factors affecting the risk of fetal losses and mummified fetuses in Holstein cows

Miguel Mellado,Ulises Macías-Cruz,Cesar A Meza-Herrera,Álvaro F Rodríguez,José E García,Jesús Mellado,Leonel Avendaño-Reyes,Omar Nájera

doi:10.5424/sjar/2021193-16690

Miguel Mellado, Ulises Macías-Cruz + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5424/sjar/2021193-16690

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Abstract

Aim of the study: To investigate vaccination programs, parity, and calving season as factors affecting the risk of abortion and mummified fetuses in Holstein cows.Area of study: Hot zone of Northeast Mexico.Material and methods: Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between peripartum disorders, parity, previous occurrence of abortion, season of calving, vaccination program, incidence of abortion, and mummified fetuses in Holstein cows.Main results: For 7014 pregnancies (2886 cows), the percentage of cows aborting and having mummified fetuses was 17.7% and 1.1%, respectively. As the number of brucellosis vaccinations increased, the incidence of abortion increased (10.4% for a single vaccination and 38.0% for 6 accumulated vaccinations). Abortion for cows having 1-2 previous abortions (56%) and >2 abortions (77%) was fivefold and sevenfold greater (p<0.01), respectively, than that for cows without previous abortion. Other important risk factors for abortion were number of calvings (19.8% for nulliparous and primiparous vs. 13.8% for >3 parturitions; OR=1.7, p<0.01), leptospirosis vaccine application <55 days postpartum (dpp; OR=1.3, p<0.05), viral vaccine application >37 dpp (OR=1.3, p<0.01), brucellosis vaccine application >20 dpp (OR=1.6, p<0.01), and no application of clostridial vaccine (OR=3.7, p<0.01). Significant risk factors for mummified fetuses were application of ≥3 brucellosis vaccinations (OR=3.3, p<0.01), no application of 10-way clostridial vaccine (OR=2.3, p<0.01), >2 previous abortions (OR=18.4, p<0.01), and calving in autumn (OR=0.4, compared to winter, p<0.05).Research highlights: Risk of abortion and mummified fetuses in Holstein cows has been found to be related to vaccination programs.

Highlights

Reproductive efficiency plays a crucial part in the profitability of intensive dairy operations, as it affects milk yield and the productive lifetime of dairy cows which affects the net returns in dairy herds (De Vries, 2006)
An adequate vaccination program may avoid the infectious causes of abortion; non-infectious causes of abortion in bovines are more difficult to prevent in intensive dairy herds (Grimard et al, 2006)
The interval from breeding to abortion depended on the number of B. abortus vaccinations applied

Summary

Introduction

Reproductive efficiency plays a crucial part in the profitability of intensive dairy operations, as it affects milk yield and the productive lifetime of dairy cows which affects the net returns in dairy herds (De Vries, 2006). Components of reduced reproductive performance of high-milk yielding cows in intensive dairy operations include delayed resumption of ovulation after parturition (Crowe et al, 2014; Santos et al, 2016), lower expression of estrus signs (Madureira et al, 2015), uterine health (Krause et al, 2014; Moore et al, 2014), lower pregnancy rates to first and subsequent inseminations (Flores et al, 2019), increased incidence of embryonic death (Diskin et al, 2016) and abortion (Mellado et al, 2016, 2019). Non-infectious causes of abortion include high milk production (Grimard et al, 2006; Mellado et al, 2019), heat stress (García-Ispierto et al, 2006; Mellado et al, 2016), parity (Labèrnia et al, 1996; López-Gatius et al, 2009), previous postpartum disorders (López-Gatius, 2012) and twin pregnancies (López-Gatius et al, 2004; Mellado et al, 2019)

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