IMPACT OF PURULENT VAGINAL DISCHARGE, CYTOLOGICAL AND SUBCLINICAL ENDOMETRITIS ON PREGNANCIES PER ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION IN SUCKLED BEEF COWS

LEAVI DE ASIS VE; MORAN K; FARCEY MF; ZAPATA LO; ROMERO H; GELID L; ELIA EM; PEREZ WALLACE S; BARTOLOME J; BILBAO MG

Jornada; X Jornada de Jovenes Investigadores INITRA; 2021

This study aimed to characterize the impact of purulent vaginal discharge (PVD), Cytological endometritis (CE), and Subclinical Endometritis (SE) on pregnancies per artificial insemination in suckled beef cows. The study was conducted in the Aberdeen Angus cow-calf operation of the INTA EEA-Anguil, La Pampa, Argentina.Cows (n = 134) were aleatory sampled to evaluate vaginal discharge (VD) subjectively scored from 0 to 3, and % PMN over 200 nucleated cells under × 400 magnifications. Register of days postpartum (DPP) included 127 cows sampled for VD and % PMN. The cyclic status, BCS and fat depth was recorded for n = 131. Progesterone (P4) was measured in a subset (n= 90). Cows were synchronized according to: i) 7-d P+E (n = 72), or ii) 5-d P+CoS (n = 58). Pregnancy was recorded 39 days after TAI (n = 130). Effects of breading season, DPP, estrus cycle status, BCS, fat depth, and P4 on VD were evaluated by Chi2test.Agreement between two blinded technicians for % PMN was estimated by the Cohen?s kappa statistic. A ROC curve was used to estimate the optimal cut-off point between VD and % PMN for evaluating CE. Cows with% PMN >cut-off pointand clear VD were diagnosed SE positive. The effect of PVD, CE, or SE on pregnancy was determined by univariate analysis and then adjusted forall other factors bymultivariable analysis with multiple logistic regression. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA 14.0 (2015 StataCorp).Significant effects were declared at P < 0.05 and tendencies declared at 0.05≤P < 0.10.Cows exhibited VD with clear mucus (VD = 0) or mucus containing flecks of white or off-white pus (VD = 1). PVD+prevalence resulted in a 19.08 % (25/131), and it was unaffected by breeding seasons, DPP, estrus cycle status, BCS, fat depth, or P4. For % PMN, κ = 0.31, indicating moderate agreement (P < 0.001). For predicting CE, a cutoff point of 3.49 % PMNwas estimated with 31.82 % sensitivity and 90.29 % specificity. CE prevalence was 13.43 % (18/134), and SE prevalence was 7.46 % (10/134).Pregnancies p/AI resulted unaffected neither by PVD (P = 0.65) nor by CE(P =0.19). However, no pregnant cows tended to show higher % PMN at the beginning of the breeding season than pregnant cows (1.79 % vs. 1.45 %, respectively; P = 0.07). Cows SE+ tended to show lower pregnancies p/AI (SE-: 41.32 %, n = 50; SE+: 10%; n =1, P =0.05). In the multivariate analysis, only SE adjusted for all other variables exhibited a tendency to decrease pregnancy p/AI (P = 0.08). Data presented here indicate that PVD and CE seem not to be preponderant pathologies in beef cattle and none of them might impair fertility in suckled cows submitted to estrous synchronization protocols. For that reason, a low prevalence could be an impediment for estimating their impact on pregnancy. On the other hand, and in spite of a few number of affected animals, SE might triggers a more efficient mechanism to impair pregnancy. SE seems to be a minor disease in grazing beef cows, but if it is present it may negatively impact on pregnancy rates.