Epidemiologic aspects of Taylorella equigenitalis.
Abstract: Contagious equine metritis (CEM) is a sexually transmissible disease in mares. Although the disease is commonly diagnosed by culturing the causative bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis (T. equigenitalis) . false negative results do occur. A recently developed Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay, however, appeared to be much more sensitive, with initial results indicating an unexpected high incidence of the agent in selected horses. In this study, samples from 107 randomly selected mares with no clinical signs of CEM submitted for conventional culture were all negative for T. equigenitalis . but in the PCR-assay 54 (49%) were positive for Taylorella -DNA. Positives in the PCR-assay were found in all breeds tested, even in horses imported from the isolated population in Iceland. These findings suggest that T. equigenitalis was present long before it was first isolated in 1977, The high incidence of Taylorella in horse populations without apparent clinical signs of CEM, the occurrence of incidental clinical case and the known variability between strains, all indicate that Taylorella is endemic in the horse population. In order to explore whether the organism is present in species other than the horse, we also used the PCR-assay on clinically health donkeys (n = 14), zebras (n = 15), Przewalski horses (n = 2) and cows (n = 21). All the animals showed negative results except one of the Przewalski horses, and one cow that was repeatedly found to give positive reaction. We also found that the fertility of 7 stallions with cultures positive for Taylorella (6 used in an AI-program and 1 by natural breeding) was not affected, as shown by the normal range of foaling rates in mares inseminated or bred by these stallions. The overall results may be interpreted to mean that Taylorella is of limited significance in horse breeding.
Publication Date: 1997-04-15 PubMed ID: 16728066DOI: 10.1016/s0093-691x(97)00097-6Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This study looks at the prevalence of a bacterium called Taylorella equigenitalis, a primary cause of contagious equine metritis (CEM), in horse populations without apparent CEM symptoms. Using a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay, the researchers found an unexpectedly high incidence of the bacterium in selected horses, suggesting it might be endemic in the horse population. The effects of this bacterium in other animal species were also explored but were shown to be of limited significance.
Contagious Equine Metritis and Taylorella Equigenitalis
- Contagious equine metritis (CEM) is a sexually transmitted disease in horses typically diagnosed by culturing the bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis (T. equigenitalis) which is responsible for causing it. Despite this, some tests can result in false negatives.
- The research involved testing for the presence of T. equigenitalis using a more sensitive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay process.
PCR-assay Findings in Horses
- Samples were taken from 107 randomly selected mares with no physical signs of CEM. Conventionally, all the samples tested were negative for T. equigenitalis, but the PCR-assay revealed that 54 (or 49%) of the mares were Taylorella-DNA positive.
- The presence of T. equigenitalis was found in all tested breeds, even in imported horses from Iceland’s isolated population.
- These results suggest that T. equigenitalis might have been present in horse populations long before it was first isolated in 1977, indicating that it could be endemic.
Presence of T. equigenitalis in Other Species
- The researchers tested the presence of T. equigenitalis using a PCR-assay in clinically healthy donkeys, zebras, Przewalski horses, and cows. All the animals tested negative except for one Przewalski horse and one cow.
- The findings here suggest that T. equigenitalis could be of limited significance in other animal species beyond horses.
Incidence of Taylorella in Horse Breeding
- Seven stallions with T. equigenitalis positive cultures were found to have unaffected fertility, evident by the regular range of foaling rates in mares inseminated or bred by these stallions.
- This implies that despite the high prevalence of Taylorella, it may have limited or insignificant impact on horse breeding.
Cite This Article
APA
Parlevliet JM, Bleumink-Pluym NM, Houwers DJ, Remmen JL, Sluijter FJ, Colenbrander B.
(1997).
Epidemiologic aspects of Taylorella equigenitalis.
Theriogenology, 47(6), 1169-1177.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0093-691x(97)00097-6 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Herd Health and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Scholtz M, Guthrie AJ, Newton R, Schulman ML. Review of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae as venereal pathogens in horses. Equine Vet J 2025 May;57(3):587-597.
- Grabatin M, Fux R, Zablotski Y, Goehring LS, Witte TS. Taylorella equigenitalis in Icelandic intact males compared with other horse breeds using natural cover. Equine Vet J 2025 Mar;57(2):441-448.
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