Prevalence and persistence of Taylorella asinigenitalis in male donkeys

Bacterial and fungal microflora on the external genitalia of male donkeys (Equus asinus)

“…Evidence in support of this was provided in a study by Timoney and Powell (1982) in respect of non-bred colts and fillies that were detected culture positive for the closely related Taylorella spp., T. equigenitalis. The findings from this and other studies (Meade et al, 2010;Donahue et al, 2012) would suggest that T. asinigenitalis is distributed in the donkey populations not only in Michigan or Kentucky but very probably in numerous other states in the USA. Longterm carriage of the organism on the external genitalia of certain male donkeys as reported by Donahue et al (2012) provides an effective means of ensuring persistence of the bacterium in non-horse equid populations.…”

“…The findings from this and other studies (Meade et al, 2010;Donahue et al, 2012) would suggest that T. asinigenitalis is distributed in the donkey populations not only in Michigan or Kentucky but very probably in numerous other states in the USA. Longterm carriage of the organism on the external genitalia of certain male donkeys as reported by Donahue et al (2012) provides an effective means of ensuring persistence of the bacterium in non-horse equid populations. At this point, there is nothing known of the pathogenic potential of T. asinigenitalis on the reproductive performance of the mature female donkey or jenny.…”

“…Isolation of T. asinigenitalis from donkey jacks of breeding age as well as from prepubertal animals would support the thesis that T. asinigenitalis is a normal constituent of the microflora in the distal reproductive tract of the male, without regard to age or prior breeding history. There are very few published reports describing isolations of T. asinigenitalis from stallions (Båverud et al, 2006;Meade et al, 2010), mares (Meade et al, 2010;Breuil et al, 2011) and geldings (Donahue et al, 2012), and all of them have been from animals on premises where there were male donkeys. With the exception of the foregoing, recorded isolations of T. asinigenitalis to date have been from male donkeys, intact or castrated (Jang et al, 2001;Franco et al, 2009;Meade et al, 2010;Breuil et al, 2011Donahue et al, 2012.…”

“…Having demonstrated persistence of T. asinigenitalis following castration of donkeys over an extended period (Donahue et al, 2012), and recognizing the close similarities between T. equigenitalis and T. asinigenitalis, it raises the issue of whether the current USDA import regulations governing the import of stallions and mares from CEM-affected countries should not also include the screening of geldings. If the concerns over T. equigenitalis are to remain, then the significance of the gelding as a source of the bacterium merits investigation.…”

“…were further evaluated using the methods for identification and genotyping described by Donahue et al (2012). Isolates of Taylorella spp.…”