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Open veterinary journal2016; 6(3); 263-267; doi: 10.4314/ovj.v6i3.18

Contagious equine metritis in Portugal: A retrospective report of the first outbreak in the country and recent contagious equine metritis test results.

Abstract: Contagious equine metritis (CEM), a highly contagious bacterial venereal infection of equids, caused by Taylorella equigenitalis, is of major international concern, causing short-term infertility in mares. Portugal has a long tradition of horse breeding and exportation and until recently was considered CEM-free. However, in 2008, T. equigenitalis was isolated at our laboratory from a recently imported stallion and 2 mares from the same stud. Following this first reported outbreak, the Portuguese Veterinary Authority (DGVA) performed mandatory testing on all remaining equines at the stud (n=30), resulting in a further 4 positive animals. All positive animals were treated and subsequently tested negative for T. equigenitalis. Since this outbreak, over 2000 genital swabs from Portuguese horses have been tested at our laboratory, with no further positive animals identified. The available data suggests that this CEM outbreak was an isolated event and we have no further evidence of CEM cases in Portugal, however, an extended and wider epidemiological study would be needed to better evaluate the incidence of the disease in Portuguese horses.
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Publication Date: 2016-12-31 PubMed ID: 28116252PubMed Central: PMC5223286DOI: 10.4314/ovj.v6i3.18Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research revolves around an infection in horses, Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), which was found in Portugal in 2008 for the first time. The paper explores the outbreak and the subsequent efforts to manage it, and examines recent test results of over 2000 horses for the presence of the disease.

Background and Findings

  • The research focuses on Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), a bacterial venereal infection which affects the fertility in mares. The bacteria, Taylorella equigenitalis, is the cause of this disease.
  • Historically, the country of Portugal, known for its horse breeding and export, was thought to be free from CEM. This presumption changed in 2008 when the first CEM outbreak in Portugal was identified, with the bacteria being found in an imported stallion and two mares from the same breeding stock.
  • In response to the outbreak, the Portuguese Veterinary Authority mandated testing for all equines at the same stock, finding four more infected animals amongst the total of 30 tested.

Treatment and Further Testing

  • The animals that tested positive for CEM were given treatment. Subsequent tests confirmed they were free of the infection. This successful treatment of all identified cases prevented further propagation of the disease.
  • In the period following the outbreak, the researchers performed extensive testing by taking over 2000 genital swabs from Portuguese horses for laboratory analysis. Remarkably, no further cases of CEM have been identified since the initial outbreak.

Epidemiological Study

  • The researchers suggest that the 2008 CEM outbreak appears to be an isolated event, given the lack of further positive cases in the subsequent tests performed on a wide variety of horses.
  • However, the research team proposes that a more extensive and broader epidemiological study would be beneficial to better understand the incidence and prevalence of this disease in the Portuguese horse population.

Cite This Article

APA
Rocha T. (2016). Contagious equine metritis in Portugal: A retrospective report of the first outbreak in the country and recent contagious equine metritis test results. Open Vet J, 6(3), 263-267. https://doi.org/10.4314/ovj.v6i3.18

Publication

Open veterinary journal
ISSN: 2226-4485
NlmUniqueID: 101653182
Country: Libya
Language: English
Volume: 6
Issue: 3
Pages: 263-267

Researcher Affiliations

Rocha, T
  • Bacteriology Laboratory, National Reference Laboratory for CEM, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária- INIAV (National Institute of Agrarian and Veterinary Research), Avenida da República, Quinta do Marquês, 2784-157 Oeiras, Portugal.

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Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. Wasiński B, Złotnicka J, Kubajka M, Olejarczyk M, Szulowski K. Taylorella equigenitalis infections in Poland - results of current diagnostic investigations. J Vet Res 2025 Sep;69(3):339-344.
    doi: 10.2478/jvetres-2025-0040pubmed: 41064404google scholar: lookup
  2. Knox A, Zerna G, Beddoe T. Current and Future Advances in the Detection and Surveillance of Biosecurity-Relevant Equine Bacterial Diseases Using Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP). Animals (Basel) 2023 Aug 18;13(16).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13162663pubmed: 37627456google scholar: lookup
  3. May CE, Guthrie AJ, Schulman ML. Direct culture-independent sequence typing of Taylorella equigenitalis obtained from genital swabs and frozen semen samples from South African horses. J Vet Diagn Invest 2019 Sep;31(5):792-794.
    doi: 10.1177/1040638719871089pubmed: 31423914google scholar: lookup
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