The microflora of the cervix of the thoroughbred mare: A clinical and bacteriological survey in a large-animal practice in Hastings

Abstract

Extract

Many reports concerned with the microflora of the genital tract in thoroughbred mares stress the potential pathogenic significance of the haemolytic streptococci. Many years ago, Dimock (1929 Dimock, W. W. 1929. Breeding diseases of the horse. J. Am. vet. med. Ass., 74: 327–335.  [Google Scholar], 1939 Dimock, W. W. 1939. Equine breeding hygiene. J. Am. vet. med. Ass., 94: 469–478.  [Google Scholar]) and Dimock and Edwards (1928) Dimock, W. W. and Edwards, P. R. 1928. The pathology and bacteriology of the reproductive organs of mares in relation to sterility. Ky agric. exp. Stn Bull., 286: 287–339.  [Google Scholar] associated the haemolytic streptococci with persistent endometritis, sterility and deaths in foals up to 2 to 4 weeks after birth. In Holland, Ressang (1954) Ressang, A. 1954. “Sterility in Mares. A clinical, bacteriological and histopathological investigation”. In Thesis, State University of Utrecht.  [Google Scholar] isolated haemolytic streptococci of Lancefield's Group C from 34 of 153 (22%) mares offered for examination because of poor breeding performance. Ressang noted that mares with streptococcal endometritis were not likely to show satisfactory fertility even after the infection had apparently been eliminated. Haemolytic streptococci have also been associated with infertility in mares in Turkey (Pusat, 1955 Pusat, M. M. 1955. Kisraklarin sikit amili streptococlarin tipleri ve streptococcus genitalium uzerinde bir munakasa. Turk vet. Hekim. Dern. Derg., 24: 2,039–2,047.  [Google Scholar]), in the United Kingdom (Moran and Cronin, 1957 Moran, A. B. and Cronin, M. T. 1957. Organisms isolated from the uteri of thoroughbred mares. J. comp. Path., 67: 106–109.  [Google Scholar]) and in Ireland (Farrelly and Mullaney, 1964 Farrelly, B. T. and Mullaney, P. E. 1964. Cervical and uterine infection in thoroughbred mares. Ir. vet. J., 18: 201–212.  [Google Scholar]). In Australia, Bain (1966) Bain, A. M. 1966. The role of infection in infertility in the thoroughbred mare. Vet. Rec., 78: 168–173.  [Google Scholar] noted that 12% of infected mares at stud in the Hunter district of New South Wales harboured beta-haemolytic strepotcocci in the genital tract. This organism was considered the most serious pathogen encountered as only 40% of these mares infected with haemolytic streptococci produced a live foal in the first year following infection: 35% had still not completed a successful pregnancy within the subsequent 3-year period.