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Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis is the causative agent of bovine genital campylobacteriosis, a sexually transmitted disease distributed worldwide. Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis biovar Intermedius strains differ in their biochemical behavior and are prevalent in some countries. We report the first genome sequence for this biovar, isolated from bull prepuce.

Campylobacter fetus is a well-recognized pathogen of animals and humans. The organism has been divided into two subspecies, C. fetus subsp. venerealis and C. fetus subsp. fetus, that are highly related phenotypically and genotypically. Due to this relatedness, it has become imperative to differentiate these two subspecies in order to avoid misdiagnosis and highlight clonal origins geographically. The principal phenotypic differentiating test at the moment is the growth of C. fetus subsp. fetus in the presence of 1% glycine, but glycine-tolerant variants of C. fetus subsp. venerealis have also been described. Molecular tools such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), numerical analysis of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)-DNA profiles and gene sequence analysis amongst others have been used to differentiate C. fetus subspecies; and they seem to hold promise for the future. C. fetus subsp. fetus colonize the intestines of cattle and sheep and is associated with sporadic abortions and enteritis, while, C. fetus subsp. venerealis is highly adapted to the genital tracts of cattle and is the causative agent of bovine venereal campylobacteriosis (BVC). This disease has a worldwide distribution and is of major economic concern to cattle industries in various parts of the world. The prevalence of the disease is highest in the developing countries where natural breeding in cattle is widely practiced. BVC is associated with lowered fertility, embryo mortality and abortion; other clinical features of the disease include many services per conception, poor pregnancy rates, long calving intervals, stillbirths and birth of weak calves that may eventually die. Vaccines have been shown to be useful in the protection of cattle against the menace of BVC, but commercial vaccines are only available in some parts of the world where advanced agricultural practices have limited its occurrence. The continued presence of this disease in the developing world poses a threat to sustainable cattle production efforts in these countries. Previous reviews highlighted the epidemiology, pathogenesis and diagnosis of the disease; in this review the clinical features of BVC, advances in diagnosis, treatment and prevention, as well as the geographic distribution of the disease have been reviewed. To achieve faster results worldwide, the need for collaborative research on BVC between investigators in developing countries and their counterparts in the developed countries has been recommended.

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The prevalence of bovine venereal campylobacteriosis (BVC) was investigated in the Lake Chad basin of Nigeria. Preputial washings and cervico-vaginal mucus samples were obtained from 270 cattle presenting a history of abortion and lowered fertility, kept in traditional and institutional farms. All the samples investigated were cultured using standard bacteriological technique. Campylobacter fetus was isolated from six bulls and four cows. In all cattle sampled, the isolation rates were 2.2% for C. fetus subsp. venerealis and 1.5% for C. fetus subsp. fetus; the herd and within-herd prevalence rates for C. fetus were 22.2% and 3.4%, respectively, while the overall active infectivity rate was 3.7%. BVC probably contributes to lowered fertility and abortions found in cattle in the Lake Chad basin of Nigeria, associated more with C. fetus subsp. venerealis than C. fetus subsp. fetus.

An abattoir survey was undertaken to investigate genital bacterial infections of ewes in tropical arid zone of Nigeria. Vaginal and uterine samples were collected and cultured using standard bacteriological techniques. The results of the study showed that the isolates were Escherichia coli (32%), Staphylococcus spp (26%), Klebsiella spp (16%), Pseudomonas (15%) and Proteus (11%); wherein E coli and S aureus were the most common bacterial isolates. The bacterial population in the vagina (64%) was si gnificantly (p<0.05) higher than that in the uterus (34%). The antibiotic susceptibility test revealed that E. coli was highly susceptible (100%) to Amoxycillin, Ampicillin, Amoxycillin-clavulanate and Pefloxacin, whereas low susceptibility was observed against Ciprofloxacin and Ofloxacin (10 and 22% respectively). S. aureus showed 100% susceptibility to Amoxycillin-clavulanate, Gentamicin, Nalidixic acid and Pefloxacin, whereas susceptibility against Streptomycin, Amoxycillin, Ciprofloxacin and Ofloxacin was in declining order (46, 33, 30 and 20% respectively). The potentials of these microbes for producing pathogenicity in genital tract of ewes is likely to be high in Nigeria. Therapeutic use of these antimicrobial agents will help to reduce infectious reproductive diseases in ewes, though in-vivo trials are further required for establishing their efficacy in controlling genital infections in ruminants.