Prevalence of <i>Campylobacter foetus</i> and <i>Trichomonas foetus</i> among cattle from Southern Africa

Abstract

Trichomoniasis and campylobacteriosis are diseases caused by Trichomonas foetus and Campylobacter foetus respectively. These diseases pose economic losses due to infertility and abortion. The aim of this retrospective study was to estimate the prevalence of C. foetus and T. foetus among southern African cattle. Sheath washings and scrapings were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for diagnosis of these microorganisms. Out of 3, 458 samples that were tested for T. foetus, 142 (4.1%) were positive. Campylobacter foetus was detected in 60 of the 3, 161 (1.9%) samples. The use of PCR was convenient for estimating the prevalence of C. foetus and T. foetus.

Key words: Species-specific PCR, diagnosis, venereal disease, Campylobacter foetus, Trichomonas foetus.