Cases Of Bovine Abortion Research Articles

Pneumonia associated withTorulopsis glabratain an aborted bovine fetus

The second case of bovine abortion caused by Torulopsis glabrata observed in examining more than 5000 fetuses is reported. The yeast was cultured from fetal abomasal content and fetal lung; attempts to isolate viruses and bacteria were unsuccessful. The yeast was seen in association with diffuse fetal pneumonia characterized by presence of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and macrophages within bronchioles, alveolar lumina and alveolar septa. Macrophages containing many yeast cells were observed within bronchioles.

Salmonella dublin abortion in cattle. I. Observations on the serum agglutination test.

The somatic and flagellar serum agglutinin titre were determined in paired samples obtained from seventy-seven cases of bovine abortion associated with Salmonella dublin infection. The cases could be divided into four serological groups with an active infection being demonstrated in most cases. The serum agglutination test was shown to be a relatively specific diagnostic test but was of more limited value in the retrospective identification of convalescent cases.

Salmonella dublin abortion in cattle. II. Observations on the whey agglutination test and the milk ring test.

The serum and whey agglutination test were compared on paired samples from thirty-five cases of bovine abortion associated with Salmonella dublin infection. The whey test proved nearly as useful as the serum test for confirming an active infection though it was only practicable to examine the whey for flagellar antibodies. S. dublin was isolated from nearly half of the milk samples obtained within the first week of abortion but none of those collected after the fourth week. The whey test proved of no value in retrospective identification of abortion cases. The trial using the milk ring test was disappointing.

Relationship of ochratoxin A to foetal death in laboratory and domestic animals.

BOVINE abortion is a major cause of economic loss to the dairy industry in the United States and elsewhere; estimates suggest that from 1.5 to 5.5% of all dairy cattle pregnancies terminate in abortions, the cause of which is largely unknown1–3. Many causes of bovine abortion are recognized4 and diagnostic methods are well established, but in most laboratories only 20 to 30% of these abortions are diagnosed1–7. We report here the results of investigations of the possibility that feed contaminated with mycotoxin is a cause of previously undiagnosed bovine abortion. Recognized diagnostic procedures revealed the causes of twenty-six8 out of fifty nonselected cases of bovine abortion referred to the Wisconsin State Animal Health Laboratory. Feed from the remaining farms was collected, dried, ground and fed to pregnant rats and rabbits to establish a possible relationship between feed and abortion. Feeds from several such herds induced foetal death and resorption in the test animals.