Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Freedom from Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cattle in St. Kitts

  • Short Communications
  • Published:
Tropical Animal Health and Production Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Trichomonosis is an endemic disease in cattle that are reared under extensive conditions and bred by natural mating. It causes profound economic losses to the producers by increasing calving interval, increasing embryo losses, and decreasing pregnancy rates. The aim of this study was to determine whether Tritrichomonas foetus infections were absent from cattle in St. Kitts. Using the modified hypergeometric method, preputial samples from bulls (n = 78) were tested using the InPouch™ culture for presence of T. foetus. Results highlighted an absence of trichomoniasis in bulls on St. Kitts with a 95% confidence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abbitt, B. and Meyerholz, G.W. 1979. Trichomonas foetus Infection of Range Bulls in South Florida. Veterinary Medicine Small Animal Clinics 74 (9):1339–1342

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, A.R. and Baldock, F.C. 1998. A new probability formula for surveys to substantiate freedom from disease. Preventative Veterinary Medicine 34: 1–17

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Campero, C.M., Rodriguez Dubra, C., Bolondi, A., Cacciato, C., Cobo, E., et al,. 2003. Two-step (culture and PCR) diagnostic approach for differentiation of non-T. foetus trichomonads from genitalia of virgin beef bulls in Argentina. Veterinary Parasitology 112: 167–175

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cobo, E.R., Favetto, P.H., Lane, V.M., Friend, A., Van Hooser, K., Mitchell, J. and BonDurant, R.H. 2007. Sensitivity and specificity of culture and PCR of smegma samples of bulls experimentally infected with Tritrichomonas foetus. Journal of Theriogenology 68: 853–860

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Collantes-Fernández, E., Mendoza-Ibarra, J.A., Pedraza-Díaz, S., Rojo-Montejo, S., Navarro-Lozano, V., Sánchez-Sánchez, R., Ruiz-Santa-Quiteria, J.A., Ortega-Mora, L.M. and Osoro, K. 2014. Efficacy of a control program for bovine trichomonosis based on testing and culling infected bulls in beef cattle managed under mountain pastoral systems of Northern Spain. The Veterinary Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.02.003

  • Daly, R. 2005. Bovine Trichomoniasis. Proceedings of The Range Beef Cow Symposium XIX. Rapid City, South Dakota

  • Felleisen, R.S.J., Lambelet, N., Bachmann, P., et al,. 1998. Detection of Tritrichomonas foetus by PCR and DNA enzyme immunoassay based on rRNA gene unit sequences. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 36: 513–519

    PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klepac, P., Metcalf, C.J.E., McLean, A.R. and Hampson, K. 2013. Towards the endgame and beyond: complexities and challenges for the elimination of infectious diseases. Philosophical Transactions. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0137

  • Parker, S., Lun, Z.R. and Gajadhar, A. 2001. Application of a PCR assay to enhance the detection and identification of Tritrichomonas foetus in cultured preputial samples. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 13: 508–513

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira-Neves, A., Campero, C.M., Martínez, A. and Benchimol, M. 2011. Identification of Tritrichomonas foetus pseudocysts in fresh preputial secretion samples from bulls. Veterinary Parasitology 175: 1–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rae, D.O. and Crews, J.E. 2006. Tritrichomonas foetus. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice 22: 595–611

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schonmann, M.J., Bondurant, R.H., Gardner, L.A., Van Hoosear, K., Baltzer, W. and Kachulis, C. 1994. Comparison of sampling and culture methods for the diagnosis of Tritrichomonas foetus infection in bulls. Veterinary Record 134: 620–622

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, M.A., Marshall, R.N. and Stack, M. 1994. Morphological differentiation of Tritrichomonas foetus from other protozoa of the bovine reproductive tract. British Veterinary Journal 150: 73–80

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yao, C. 2013. Diagnosis of Tritrichomonas foetus-infected bulls, an ultimate approach to eradicate bovine trichomoniasis in US cattle? Journal of Medical Microbiology 62: 1–9

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yao, C., Bardsley, K.D., Litzman, E.A., Hall, M.L. and Davidson, M.R. 2011. Tritrichomonas foetus Infection in Beef Bull Populations in Wyoming. Journal of Bacteriology and Parasitology 2: 117. https://doi.org/10.4172/2155-9597.1000117

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Stacy McFarlane and other student members of the RUSVM AABP for volunteering their time to carry out the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ross University School Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, West Indies, Saint Kitts and Nevis

    Kimberly E. Coker, Joseph J. Lim, Rebecca L. Schleisman, Christopher Vosloo, Hilari M. French, Juan C. Samper, John J. Callanan, Robert O. Gilbert, Fortune Sithole, Chaoqun Yao & Aspinas Chapwanya

Authors
  1. Kimberly E. Coker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joseph J. Lim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rebecca L. Schleisman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christopher Vosloo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hilari M. French
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Juan C. Samper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. John J. Callanan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Robert O. Gilbert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Fortune Sithole
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Chaoqun Yao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Aspinas Chapwanya
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Chaoqun Yao or Aspinas Chapwanya.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. St. Kitts and Nevis Government granted permission for collection of samples at St. Kitts abattoir.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Coker, K.E., Lim, J.J., Schleisman, R.L. et al. Freedom from Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cattle in St. Kitts. Trop Anim Health Prod 50, 1171–1173 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-018-1537-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-018-1537-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation