Pre-parturition staphylococcal mastitis in primiparous replacement goats: persistence over lactation and sources of infection

This investigation reported for the first time the occurrence of intramammary infections caused by Staphylococcus in primiparous replacement goats before parturition and the persistence of clinical Staphylococcus aureus infection during the lactation period. Subclinical infections, mainly caused by coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS), did not persist during lactation. Genotyping analysis indicated that environment seems to play a moderate role as source of intramammary infections to goats before parturition, but causative agents of mastitis in lactating animals are not genotypically related to environmental staphylococci. The occurrence and persistence of intramammary infections in replacement goats demonstrate the need to consider those animals as potential sources of infections in dairy goat herds.     

Acute and Chronic Effects of a Contraceptive Compound RTI‐4587‐073(l) on Testicular Histology and Endocrine Function in Miniature Horse Stallions

The objective of this study was to evaluate acute endocrine effects as well as histological changes in testicular parenchyma induced by the contraceptive compound RTI‐4587‐073(l). Six miniature stallions were used in this experiment. The treatment group (n = 3) received one oral dose of 12.5 mg/kg of RTI‐4587‐073(l), and the control group (n = 3) received placebo only. The stallions' baseline parameters (semen, testicular dimensions, endocrine values) were collected and recorded for 5 weeks before treatment and for 6 weeks after treatment. Multiple blood samples were collected for endocrine analysis. Testicular biopsies were obtained before treatment, 1 day after treatment and every other week after treatment. Ultrasound exams were performed to monitor the dimensions of the stallions' testes. All stallions were castrated 6 weeks after treatment. Sperm numbers, motility and percentage of morphologically normal sperm decreased (p < 0.05), while the number of immature germ cells increased in ejaculates from treated animals (p < 0.05). Serum concentrations of inhibin and follicle‐stimulating hormone did not change. Testosterone concentrations initially transiently decreased (p < 0.05) after administration of RTI‐4587‐073(l), and increased several days later (p < 0.05). Testicular content of testosterone and estradiol 17‐β was lower in treated stallions than in control stallions on Day 1 after treatment (p < 0.05). Severe disorganization of the seminiferous tubules, significant loss of immature germ cells and complete depletion of elongated spermatids were observed in testicular biopsies obtained from treated stallions 1 day, 2 and 4 weeks after treatment. These changes were still present in the testicular samples taken from treated stallions after castration. The results of this study confirmed that RTI‐4587‐073(l) has antispermatogenic effects in stallions. Furthermore, we concluded that this compound causes acute sloughing of immature germ cells from the seminiferous tubules. RTI‐4587‐073(l) has significant but transient effects on Leydig cell function in stallions.     

Epidemiological Description of Cystic Ovarian Disease in Argentine Dairy Herds: Risk Factors and Effects on the Reproductive Performance of Lactating Cows

To describe the epidemiology of cystic ovarian disease (COD), to find possible risk factors associated with the incidence of cysts and to analyse the impact of COD on the reproductive performance of dairy cows, databases from 22 dairy herds from the main dairy region in Argentina were retrospectively evaluated throughout a 3‐year period (2009–2011). A total of 248 COD cases over 9156 parturitions were recorded, resulting in a cumulative incidence rate of 2.7%. Cystic ovarian disease incidence density was lower during the first 100 days post‐partum (DPP) than during later stages of lactation. Seasonality had a significant influence on the disease presentation with higher incidence rates during winter and spring. Cows with a previous diagnosis of clinical mastitis showed 2.72 times more chances of developing ovarian cysts. Cystic cows had longer calving to first service and calving to conception intervals and lower conception rate than controls.     

Feline Endometrial Adenocarcinoma in Females <1 Year Old: A Description of Four Cases

Uterine neoplasms of epithelial origin are rare in cats and most often are described in older females. Yet, in less than 2 years, four ovariohysterectomy specimens were submitted from different practices to the Laboratory of Histology and Anatomical Pathology, at UTAD (Vila Real, Portugal), that emitted a diagnosis of feline endometrial adenocarcinoma. Untypically, all the females were aged <1 year old at the surgery. Access to the clinical files was requested to document the clinical features of the four cases, including any complementary data available, to construct the present case reports. The clinical situation developed with discrete signs, but vulvar discharge was present in three cases, ranging from bloody to brownish or colourless, and from purulent to mucous. The females were in dioestrus, although the oestrus remained unperceived in most cases. In this study, the four clinical situations are described and discussed on the basis of available literature, highlighting the aspects that may impair an early diagnosis and that may favour the progression of the disease and also that age should not be an excluding criteria when analysing the differential diagnosis list.     

Reproductive Performance of Gilts with Similar Age but with Different Growth Rate at the Onset of Puberty Stimulation

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproductive performance of gilts that had a similar age but different weights at the onset of puberty stimulation by boar exposure at 144 days. Gilts were divided into two groups according to their lifetime growth rate from birth to approximately 144 days of age. Mean growth rates at this moment were 577 and 724 g/day for group 1 (G1; n = 58) and group 2 (G2; n = 58), respectively. After selection, gilts were weighed at approximately 155, 165 and 175 days of age, on the insemination day and at slaughter. Gilts were inseminated, on average, at 193 days of age and were slaughtered 32 days after insemination, when the number of corpora lutea and embryos were recorded. Higher growth rate gilts (G2) reached puberty earlier (155.3 vs 164.1 days; p < 0.01). More gilts of G2 group attained puberty by 190 days of age (p = 0.004) than G1 gilts (95%; 55/58 vs 76%; 44/58). The anoestrous rate, until 60 days after the onset of boar exposure was higher (p < 0.01) in G1 (19.0%; 11/58) than in G2 (3.4%; 2/58) group. However, there were no differences in the pregnancy rate (90.7 vs 94.5), ovulation rate (15.9 vs 16.5), total embryos (12.9 vs 11.7), viable embryos (12.0 vs 11.1) and embryo survival (73.7% vs 68.5%), between G1 gilts and G2 gilts, respectively (p > 0.05). High growth rate gilts attain puberty earlier and have a lower anoestrous rate than low growth rate gilts.