Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
2621 MORGAN CIR
KNOXVILLE,TN 37996-4540
Performing Department
Large Animal Clinical Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Tritrichomonas foetus is aparasiteknown to be a pathogen of the bovine reproductive tract. In cattle, the organism is transmitted to the female vagina and uterus from the foreskin of a bull. It causes infertility and has caused spontaneous abortions in the first trimester. To determine the prevelance of Tritrichomonas foetus in Tennessee beef bulls,500 Tennessee-origin bulls will be sampled for Trichomoniasis at the Southeastern Provision, LLC, abattoir. All individual bull identification, the approximate age of the bull by dentition, and the breed of the bull will be recorded at the time of sample collection. Sample collection, handling, and testing will be conducted following currently accepted industry standards for Trichomoniasis. Both culture and real-time PCR testing for Trichomoniasis will be performed on the samples at the UT College of Veterinary Medicine laboratory. Any positive results and associated bull information will be reportred to the state veterinarian within 24 hrs of test results. Study findings will be reported to the Tennessee Trichomoniasis Working group within 30 days of the completion of the study.Tennessee Department of Agriculture, 2/12/14 to 6/30/14, $25,000
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Determine the prevalence of Tritrichomonas foetus in Tennessee beef bulls slaughtered at a single cattleabbatoir.
Project Methods
Five hundred Tennessee origin bulls will be sampled for Trichomoniasis at the Southeastern Provision, LLC, abattoir. All individual bull identification, the approximate age of the bull by dentition, and the breed of the bull will be recorded at the time of sample collection. Sample collection, handling, and testing will be conducted following currently accepted industry standards for Trichomoniasis. Both culture and real-time PCR testing for Trichomoniasis will be performed on the samples at the UT College of Veterinary Medicine laboratory. Any positive results and associated bull information will be reportred to the state veterinarian within 24 hrs of test results. Study findings will be reported to the Tennessee Trichomoniasis Working group within 30 days of the completion of the study.