Bovine abortion Part 1: Still one of the most difficult diagnoses to make

Abstract

Effective surveillance methods for brucellosis are in place worldwide. The diagnosis of sporadic bovine abortion cases remains difficult because emphasis is placed on infectious causes, which may be controlled to some extent by vaccination, whereas the majority are of non‐infectious origin. This case study describes a pathology‐based investigation of a sporadic abortion, presumably associated with neosporosis from laboratory results of previous episodes. A fetal cardiomyopathy was found, possibly associated with vitamin E/selenium deficiency, and evidence that it died during second‐stage labour at 225 days gestation. The dam presented no evidence of Neospora caninum infection, but bulk milk serology suggested that control of leptospirosis was inadequate in this herd.

Farmers’ and veterinary surgeons’ knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards cattle abortion investigations in the UK

“…In the UK, an abortion investigation will result in a diagnosis in less than 15 per cent of cases 2. This low diagnostic rate is partly due to the lag between death of the fetus and expulsion, giving time for autolysis of the fetus to occur, thus impairing diagnostic test sensitivity 3.…”