Investigation of Tritrichomonas Foetus in Cattle Using Different Methods in Basrah City – Iraq

Tritrichomonas foetus causes a venereal disease in cattle called bovine trichomoniasis. T. foetus lives in the reproductive tract of the cow, the surface of the penis and prepuce of the bull and causing early fetal loss and sometimes late term abortions. It can also extend breeding / calving season. In this study, 155 cows of different ages (2-6 years old) and with a variety of clinical signs (repeat breeders, abortions, and discharge only) were examined from different areas in Basrah Province, Iraq from November 2020 to July 2021, and 75 samples collected from healthy animals (without any symptom). The infection rate was detected in wet mount techniques found fewer positive findings than in pouch techniques, with 12 (40%) recorded and in pouch systems, 30 (100%) recorded while in the culture 24(80 %), Giemsa-stained smears 19(63.3%) and Acridine orange was 20 (66.6%). The present study improved that cows more than three years are more susceptible to be infected than cows less than three years. The study concluded that if no control method is applied in Basrah, there is a serious risk of spreading Trichomonas foetus.