INTRODUCTION

Trichomoniasis is an insidious venereal disease of cattle Also seen in cat, birds, horse and human Cattle and cat-Trichomonas foetus/ Tritrichomonas foetus Avian -Trichomonas gallinae Horse-Trichomonas equi

Trichomoniasis in cattle
Synonyms- Trich Bull and cow affected Transmitted to cows by chronically infected bulls In birds - Canker

HISTORY
Trichomoniasis in cattle is discovered by Mazzanti of Italy in 1900 Rivolta discovered trichomoniasis in pigeon in 1878 as Ceromonas gallinae Later placed in G. Trichomonas by Stabler

ETIOLOGY
Trichomonas foetus or Tritrichomonas foetus o Flagellated protozoan o Found in- genital tract, vagina, cervix, uterus, penis, prepuce and sometimes in urethra

CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom: Protista Phylum: Metamonada Class: Parabasalia Order: Trichomonadida Family: Trichomonadidae Genus: Trichomonas

o Spindle shaped(818 m long and 49 m wide) o Three anterior flagella o A trailing flagellum which is attached as an undulating membrane along the length of the body o The axostyle is thick and hyaline and projects a short distance from the posterior end

MORPHOLOGY

SEROTYPES
Three types of strains Belfast strain(Europe, Africa and the USA ) Brisbane strain(Australia) Manley strain They are isolated from genital tract of cow

EPIDEMIOLOGY
Trich is distributed world widely A major cause of infertility in naturally bred cattle in many countries Economic losses primarily are due to open cows, repeat breeding and subsequent longer calving intervals Bull are quite susceptible to infection than cows In bulls infection is permanent, unlike cows, which may rid themselves of the infection

TRANSMISSION
At the time of coitus or AI Bull to bull spread can at time of semen collection or mounting The organism infects the lining of the uterus, vagina, oviducts and cervix, making it possible for cows to transmit the disease to other bulls, if inseminated by more than one animal Natural service about 80% chance Infected bulls older than 3 years of age tend to become permanent carriers

 Usually they only harbour the organism for a few heat cycles after infection or pregnancy loss Sometimes through entire gestation and even 9 weeks postpartum T. foetus is incapable of forming cysts and cannot survive outside the host for any length of time Rarely, dirty equipment along with unsanitary technique for genital examination can be a means of transmission In fact, AI is a good deal with infected herd

In CATS
Faecal-oral route Trophozoites are ingested from fresh faecal contamination The significance of venereal transmission in cats is unknown

In birds
Through contaminated food & water Courtship behaviour Consumption of infected birds(eg: Hawks) In pigeons through pigeon milk

PATHOGENISIS
BULLS Organism localizes in the smegma or secretions of the penis, prepuce and end of the urethra Semen get contaminated with organisms from the epithelial lining of the penis, prepuce and distal urethra Crypts or microscopic folds within the epithelial lining of the penis and sheath, and provide sites for localization of the organism

COWS Organism colonizes the vagina, uterus and oviduct of the cow Cows may not appear infected until 1 to 2 months post infection Colonization and infection of the cow take place at breeding After the protozoa attach to the lining cells of the vagina, they form colonies that spread to the uterus and oviducts The uterus reacts to this colonization with an inflammatory response, which terminates the pregnancy

 In rapidly developing infections, death of embryo occurs before 18 days after breeding return to heat Usually, inflammation due to Trichomoniasis lasts 50 to 60 days Sometimes infection prolonged and no abortion until 7-8 months of gestation Rarely, an infected cow may carry a normal calf to term and remains as a carrier to the next breeding season

In Cats
Infection of the large intestine occurs, which can lead to prolonged and intractable diarrhoea The stool of an infected cat is often semi-formed to viscous consistency The mode of infection is still unknown, suspected that the organism is passed through contact with an infected feline's faeces

In Birds
Acute
lesions appear in mouth, pharynx, oesophagus and crop Inflammation and creamy white exudate Yellow white ulcers also seen

Chronic
Large and hard yellow lesion in mucosa Caseous masses coalesces and occludes the lumen of oesophagus Affects beak, eyes, brain, viscera and develop complete necrosis

LESIONS
Placentitis Vaginitis The vulva and vagina become swollen, reddened and slightly sensitive In foetus enlarged livers Non-inflated, enlarged, firm lungs

CLINICAL SIGNS
Early abortions Extended calving season and increased services per conception Mild to severe pyometra in some, but not all, infected cows Metritis and scarring of uterus Infected bulls show no clinical signs and remain as asymptomatic shedding

In CATS
Clinically silent carriers Colitis is the most common clinical sign, with malodorous chronic diarrhoea Blood and mucus in the faeces Chronic weight loss also reported

In Birds
Acute cases sudden death with little signs In chronic cases
Anorexia Depression, dullness Emaciation Diarrhoea Death within 3-4 weeks

Distribution of cases in a herd infected

Aborted Not infected Infected no loss Infertility(late breeders) Pyometra

TREATMENT
No approved, effective treatment exists for Trichomoniasis in cows or bulls

For cats
Ronidazole(10mg/kg) OD for 1-2 weeks
Side effect- Neurotoxicity

Other drugs include Tinidazole and concurrent use of Enrofloxacin & Fenbendazole

For Birds
Dimetridazole (200-400 mg/L drinking water) for five days Metronidazole(10-30 mg/kg) BID 5-10days

DIAGNOSIS
The history of introduction of new infected animal, followed by increased infertility problems

Other techniques

Agent identification by direct examination or culture PCR Mucus agglutination test Intradermal Tricin test Immunohistochemistry on tissue

Sample collection
Samples can be collected from bulls by scraping the preputial and penile mucosa with an artificial insemination pipette Samples from cows are collected by washing the vagina, or by scraping the cervix with an artificial insemination pipette or metal brush Transport medium- Winters medium, buffered saline solution with 5% foetal bovine serum, or skim milk, with or without antibiotics [37] or in thioglycollate

CULTURE
CPLM medium, BGPS medium, Clausens medium, Diamonds trichomonad medium, Oxoids Trichomonas medium Samples collected by preputial wash Initial detection of organisms by light microscopy, on a wet mount slide prepared directly from the sample or culture, or through the plastic wall of the InPouchTM The diagnosis of abortion induced by T. foetus may be relatively easy where an aborted foetus is recovered, because of the large number of organisms demonstrable in the foetal abomasal contents or placental fluids

InPouchTF
This system represents an improvement in the culture method for diagnosis of T. foetus infection It is a self-contained system for the detection by culture of T .foetus from bovine preputial or vaginal samples This medium is selective for the transport and growth of the trichomonas, while inhibiting the growth of contaminating microorganisms

PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Prefer AI Include Trich vaccine Short breeding season Maintain cross herds Use young bulls

Cull open cows

Cow Herd

Test &cull +ve bulls

Repro'd: disease vaccines

 Artificial insemination has reduced the incidence The herd should be divided into exposed and unexposed groups Eliminate older bulls with young for mating

VACCINE
Whole cell vaccines- monovalent bacterin or polyvalent vaccine (Campylobacter and Leptospira spp) These products show efficacy in the female but not in the bull This is in contrast to earlier studies in Australia in which protection or even clearance was afforded to bulls receiving membrane or glycoprotein fractions of T. foetus

 TRICHGUARD (Killed Tritrichomonas foetus)is commercially available Rs. 1300/10 doses Inject at 2-4 weeks interval and last dose precede breeding by 4 wks.(5 mL) o Annual boost required