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Mycoplasma bovis is pathogen known to cause respiratory disease, otitis media, arthritis and a variety of additional diseases in cattle. Infections caused by this pathogen have significant impact on the health, welfare and productivity of dairy and beef cattle resulting in substantial economic losses. Current preventive and treatment strategies rely on the use of antimicrobials and vaccines; however, their efficacy is limited due to difficult diagnosis and inconsistent disease expression. Here, we report results on the use of Mycobacterium cell wall fraction (MCWF), an immunomodulator, in dairy cows persistently infected with M. bovis during the period 2011-2015. Application of MCWF aided in reducing M. bovis-associated clinical signs, such as pneumonia, arthritis and mastitis, and improving overall reproductive performance and days in lactation of infected dairy cows. These results were compared to historical information on the health status and farm performance for period 2011-2015, and suggest that MCWF immunomodulator could be introduced as an aid in treatment protocols for persistent infections with M. bovis in dairy cows.

The presence of hydrometra was analyzed on five dairy goat farms (one Saanen and four Alpine) in a period of one to three years, from 2013 to 2016. Total of 3,355 goats were scanned by ultrasound for pregnancy diagnosis after breeding season or out-of-season upon hormonal synchronization. Overall incidence of hydrometra was 1.37%. One farm of Saanen goats demonstrated statistically higher incidence of hydro/pyometra as compared to other four Alpine farms (3.25% vs. 0.56%; p <0.001). Seasonal synchronization of anestric goats and occasional outof-season synchronization in nulliparous Saanen goats probably contributed to higher incidence of this pathological condition (7/67; 10.45%), thus leaving unclear if this results can be attributed to breed affinity and/or to intensive reproductive management. Treatment with double prostaglandin injections and antibiotic treatment of hydrometra/pyometra resulted in relatively good conception rate of 64% (16/25). In conclusion, regular ultrasonography 40-70 days after mating or insemination is of crucial importance for intensive farm reproductive management on large dairy goat farms. After the treatment, significant percentage of goats with hydrometra can be successfully rebred.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the protein content of seminal plasma on the motility, viability and acrosome integrity of spermatozoa in extended semen stored for 3 days. A total of 32 semen samples (from four boars) with high (4 mg/ml) and 32 semen samples (from four boars) with low (2 mg/ml) protein content were investigated. The semen samples were diluted by BTS at a ratio of 1:4, and stored for 72 h at 17 o C. The percentages of live sperm (LS), live sperm with damaged acrosome (LDA) and total sperm with damaged acrosome (TDA) were detected by flow cytometry. Sperm progressive motility (PM) was detected using CASA. After 72 h of storage, the percentage of LS and PM was significantly (P < 0.01) higher, and the LDA and TDA were significantly (P < 0.01) lower in samples with high protein content than in the samples with low protein content (LS = 66 vs. 44%, PM = 64 vs. 48%, LDA = 15 vs. 21% and TDA = 29 vs. 45%, respectively). When comparing the difference between 0 and 72 h of storage, the percentage decrease in LS and PM, while increase in LDA and TDA were significantly higher in the samples with low (LS: 75 to 44%; PM: 68 to 48%; LDA: 11 to 21% and TDA: 23 to 45%) than in the samples with high protein content (LS: 78 to 66%; PM: 70 to 64%; LDA: 9 to 15% and TDA: 17 to 29%). We concluded that protein content in seminal plasma has a significant influence on progressive motility, viability and acrosome integrity in diluted semen stored for 3 days.