Contagious equine metritis–outbreak of the disease in Kentucky and laboratory methods for diagnosing the disease.

This research paper discusses the outbreak of Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) in Kentucky and provides guidelines for laboratory methods to diagnose the disease in mares and stallions.

Contagious Equine Metritis and its Initial Outbreaks

• The paper starts with a discussion on the initial outbreaks of the Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), a sexually transmitted disease among horses, in the year 1977 in England and Ireland. The disease later got diagnosed in France and Australia.
• This infectious disease first entered the United States due to the import of two stallions from France at the end of the year 1977, initiating a disease outbreak in the 1978 breeding season occurring in Kentucky.

Clinical Signs of CEM in Mares

• The research suggests that mares show clinical signs of CEM around 8 to 10 days after being covered by an infected stallion. Majorly, a copious, greyish discharge is observed in the mares.
• However, few mares do not depict any outward signs of the disease, but experience a shortened dioestrus period. The dioestrus phase refers to the period between ovulation and the next menstrual cycle.

Carrier Status of Mares and Stallions

• Many mares recover from the disease spontaneously, but a small number may become carriers of the CEM organism, indicating they may not show symptoms of the disease but are capable of transmitting it to others.
• Stallions, on the other hand, do not exhibit any clinical signs of the disease but can be a carrier, and hence transmit the disease to the mares.

Laboratory Diagnosis of CEM

• The paper concludes with the recommendation of various laboratory procedures that can be used for the diagnosis of Contagious Equine Metritis in mares and stallions. However, the specific methods recommended are not detailed in the provided abstract.