Major Reproductive Problem Research Articles

Incidence of Major Clinical Reproductive Health Problems of Dairy Cows at Bako Livestock Research Farm over a Two-Year Period (September 2008-December 2010)

A prospective follow up study was carried out on 372 dairy cows at Bako Agricultural research center between September 2008 and December 2010 to determine the incidence of reproductive problems and associated risk factors in the cows. The animals were continuously followed from insemination/mating until 45 days postpartum for occurrence of clinical reproductive problems. Data were collected during farm visits by observation and clinical examination of animals. The cumulative incidence of clinically observed major reproductive problems was 35.2% (131/372). No statistically detectable effect (p>0.05) of breed was shown on the occurrence of clinical reproductive problems evaluated. In addition, number of parities, body condition score (BCS), age of dams, calf sex and service type were not found to have a significant influence on the occurrence of reproductive problems in the study farm (p>0.05). The most common reproductive problems recorded in the present study were retained fetal membrane (8.3%), dystocia (6.7%), abortion (5.9%), uterine infections (5.6%) and stillbirths (4.8%). In this study, the incidence of dystocia, uterine infections, stillbirths and repeat breeding were more common in crossbred cows whereas abortion was more common in local cows but the effect of these factors was not significant (p>0.05). This study revealed that nearly one cow out of every three cows encountered at least one type of clinical reproductive problems indicating the widespread occurrence of the problems among dairy cows at Bako Agricultural Research Center. However, considered plausible factors such as breed, parity number, body condition score (BCS), age of dams, calf sex and service type had no significant influence on the occurrence of reproductive problems in the study farm indicating that some other factors are responsible for precipitating the conditions. It is, therefore, recommended that other factors that precipitate the occurrence of the problems in the farm should be investigated and appropriate interventions implemented in order to minimize the occurrence of these problems and associated losses in the farm.

The vaccine candidate BLSOmp31 protects mice against Brucella canis infection

Canine brucellosis represents a major reproductive problem worldwide and it is considered a zoonotic disease. New approaches are therefore urgently needed to develop an effective and safe immunization strategy against Brucella canis. In the present study, BALB/c mice were subcutaneously immunized with the recombinant chimera rBLSOmp31 formulated in different adjuvants. The different strategies induced a vigorous immunoglobulin G (IgG) response, with high titers of IgG1 as well as IgG2. Besides, spleen cells from rBLSOmp31-immunized mice produced gamma interferon and IL-4, suggesting the induction of a mixed Th1–Th2. Vaccination with rBLSOmp31-IFA formulation provided the best protection levels comparable with that given by control vaccines. None of the immunization strategies induced serological interference in diagnosis. Hitherto, this is the first report that a recombinant vaccine confers protection against B. canis in mice.

Goodbye International Journal of Andrology, welcome Andrology!

Goodbye <i>International Journal of Andrology</i>, welcome <i>Andrology</i>!

Prevalence of Reproductive Problems in Buffalo in Mehsana Milk-Shed Area of Gujarat

The aim of the project was to find out the prevalence of common major reproductive problems in dairy buffalo around Mehsana milk shed area. Survey found 20541 (12.56%) problematic/nonproductive animals in 242 villages having 163498 breedable buffaloes. Reproduction performance affects the quantity of milk produced per cow per day of the herd. Per rectal examination of 11209 (54.57%) problematic animals revealed prevalence of various reproductive disorders.

Evaluation of the efficacy of separate oral supplements compared with the combined oral supplements of vitamins c and e on sperm motility in wistar rats

Infertility is a major reproductive and social problem with a worldwide prevalence of 10-15%. While 11.8-39.0% of infertility cases are attributable to the female, 15.8-42.4% is attributed to the male and 8.0-11.1% to unknown factors. The study investigated the efficacy of the single versus combined regimes of antioxidant vitamins C and E oral supplements on sperm motility in the reproductively matured Wistar rats. Twenty [20] male Wistar rats aged 12 weeks and weighing between 182 g and 252 g were randomly grouped into 4 experimental blocks [A-D] of 5 rats each. Block A rats were served combined daily dose of 90 mg vitamin C and 15 mg vitamin E, block B rats had no treatment and served as control, block C rats were served daily dose of 15 mg vitamin E only while block D rats were served daily dose of 90 mg vitamin C only; all treatments were administered for 28 days. On the 29th day, the rats were humanely sacrificed and semen analyzed for sperm motility. The study showed that treatment with vitamins C and E as single regime significantly improved [P<0.01] the forward, progressive [category a] mean percentage sperm motility by 70 and 75 folds respectively while significantly decreasing [P<0.01] the non-progressive [category c] mean percent sperm motility by 8 and 5 folds respectively compared to the control mean percent sperm motility. We therefore conclude that sperm motility in the Wistar rats is significantly improved with the separate oral supplements of vitamins C and E as compared with the combined supplements.

Ovarian follicular cysts in dairy cows: An abnormality in folliculogenesis

Ovarian follicular cysts are a major reproductive problem in lactating dairy cows. The primary physiological defect leading to the formation of ovarian follicular cysts is a failure of the hypothalamus to trigger the preovulatory surge of luteinizing hormone (LH) in response to estradiol. The factor responsible for this hypothalamic defect may be progesterone. Intermediate levels of progesterone have been shown to prevent ovulation and promote persistence of dominant follicles in normal cycling cows. Recently, we found that 66% of cows with ovarian follicular cysts had progesterone concentrations in an unusual, intermediate range (0.1–1.0 ng/mL) at the time of their detection. A majority of new follicles (76%) that develop in the presence of these intermediate progesterone concentrations became cysts. Only 10% ovulated. Based on these observations, a novel model for the formation and turnover of ovarian follicular cysts is proposed.