SUMMARY: Abortion and stillbirth are important reproductive disorders in the dairy industry and are often caused by infectious agents. This study investigated whether bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV),Brucellaspp.,and Neospora caninumare associated with abortion and/or stillbirth in dairy cattle in Ethiopia. Dairy cattle from 99 farms were categorized as cases (n = 134) or controls (n = 268) according to reproductive data. Blood samples were screened for antibodies for these infectious agents. The overall proportion of cattle that were seropositive for BVDV,Brucellaspp., andN. caninumwas 11·7%, 3·2%, and 17·2%, respectively. Seropositivity for BVDV andBrucellaspp. was similar for cases and controls, but significantly more cases were seropositive forN. caninum(29·8%) than controls (10·8%). This is the first report demonstratingN. caninumis common in dairy cattle in Ethiopia, and is probably a greater impediment to reproductive success in Ethiopian dairy farms than either BVDV orBrucellaspp.

Progesterone profiles in Norwegian Red cows were categorized, and associations between the occurrence of irregularities in the profiles and the commencement of luteal activity were investigated. The cows were managed in 3 feeding trials from 1994 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2008 at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. The cows were followed from calving, and the milk samples collected represented 502 lactations from 302 cows. Milk samples for progesterone analysis were taken 3 times weekly from 1994 throughout 1998 and from 2005 to 2008 and 2 times weekly from 1999 to 2001. Commencement of luteal activity was defined as the first day of 2 consecutive measurements of progesterone concentration >= 3 ng/mL not earlier than 10 d after calving. Delayed ovulation type I was defined as consistently low progesterone concentration, = 50 d postpartum. Delayed ovulation type II was defined as prolonged interluteal interval with milk progesterone measurements = 12 d between 2 luteal phases. Persistent corpus luteum (PCL) type I was defined as delayed luteolysis with milk progesterone >= 3 ng/mL for >= 19 d during the first estrous cycle postpartum. Persistent corpus luteum type II was defined as delayed luteolysis with milk progesterone >= 3 ng/mL for >= 19 d during subsequent estrous cycles before first artificial insemination. Delayed ovulation type I was present in 14.7%, delayed ovulation type II in 2.8%, PCL type I in 6.7%, and PCL type II in 3.3% of the profiles. Commencement of luteal activity was related to milk yield, parity, PCL type I, and the summated occurrence of PCL type I and II. The least squares means for the interval to commencement of luteal activity were 24.2 d when PCL type I and II were present and 29.5 d when PCL type I and II were absent. The likelihood of pregnancy to first service was not affected in cows with a history of PCL when artificial insemination was carried out at progesterone concentrations <3 ng/mL (i.e., during estrus); however, cows that had experienced PCL were more likely to be inseminated during a luteal phase. The occurrence of delayed ovulation and PCL in Norwegian Red cows was less than that reported in most other dairy populations.

The aims of this study were to establish the incidence of cystic ovarian disease (COD) and its geographical and seasonal variation in Norway, investigate the effect of COD on culling rates, and describe the effects of COD on subsequent reproductive performance and its association to twins.

Reproduction is the single greatest factor limiting beef cattle production. Previous research on beef suckler luteal activity has largely focused on the mechanisms, and duration, of postpartum anoestrus. However, the temporal pattern of luteal activity after resumption of post-partum ovarian activity, and the impact of pattern type on days open (DO) in purebred beef suckler cows, are unknown.