Zinka Maksimović

Vaginal and uterine bacteria of healthy bitches during different stages of their reproductive cycle.

Bacteria commonly isolated from the vagina of healthy bitches include: Escherichia coli , Streptococcus canis , Pasteurella multocida , Staphylococcus aureus , S taphylococcus pseudintermedius and haemolytic Streptococcus species (Olson and Mather 1978, Allen and Dagnall 1982, Baba and others 1983). Some researchers advocate bacterial isolation in pure or 2-isolate mixed culture as an aid in the diagnosis of reproductive diseases (Hirsh and Wiger 1977, Bjurstrom 1993). However, there is limited data reporting pure or mixed bacterial cultures isolated during specific stages of the reproductive cycle in healthy bitches, which should complicate the interpretation of bacteriological findings. The true bacteriological status of the uterus remains unclear. Results of previous studies (Baba and others 1983, Watts and others 1996, Schultheiss and others 1999) differed on bacteria isolated, frequency of isolation and stage of reproductive cycle examined. The aim of this study was to investigate vaginal and uterine bacterial flora in clinically healthy bitches during different stages of the reproductive cycle, and to correlate culture findings with gross and histologic lesions of the uterus. Vaginal swabs, uterine swabs and uterine tissue samples from 40 clinically healthy bitches were collected for bacteriological, cytological and histological examination. Bitches of different breeds, ages and stages of the reproductive cycle were separated according to whether they were domestic (n = 20) or feral (n = 20). The stage of the reproductive cycle was determined by history, physical examination and vaginal …

Comparison of phenotypic and genotypic profiles among caprine and ovine Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae strains

Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (Movp) is considered to be one of the most important mycoplasmas causing respiratory disease in small ruminants. Most epidemiologic and characterisation studies have been conducted on strains collected from sheep. Information on the presence and characteristics of Movp in healthy and pneumonic goats is limited. Phenotypic or genotypic differences between sheep and goat isolates have never been studied. The objective of our study was to characterise and compare the similarities and differences between caprine and ovine Movp strains isolated from affected and asymptomatic animals in order to elucidate phenotypic and genotypic variability. Four different techniques were used on a set of 23 Movp isolates. These included SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, random amplified polymorphic DNA and the heat shock protein 70 gene sequence-based method. A high degree of phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity among Movp strains was demonstrated in this study. Our results demonstrated differences between goat and sheep strains, revealing not only a link between strains and host ruminant species, but by geographical origin as well. However, the finding of immunodominant antigens of molecular masses 36, 38, 40 and 70 kDa (±3 kDa) in Movp isolates from sheep and goats foretells their potential use in the development of serological diagnostic tests and vaccines.

Genital mycoplasmas of healthy bitches

Little is known about the presence of mycoplasmas in the genital tracts of domestic and stray bitches or in the vaginas of ovariohysterectomized (OHE) bitches. Moreover, to our knowledge, there has been no research to investigate the presence of canine vaginal mycoplasmas during the different stages of the reproductive cycle. We investigated the occurrence of mycoplasmas in the vaginas of healthy domestic and stray intact bitches, to correlate their presence with specific stages of the reproductive cycle, and to compare them with those in OHE bitches. We also investigated the presence of uterine mycoplasmas. Mycoplasmas were isolated from 41 of 122 vaginal swabs (34%) from domestic (27%) and stray (39%) bitches. Mycoplasma canis was the most commonly identified species (n = 26; 63%), and was detected in both intact (60%) and OHE (73%) bitches. Mycoplasma isolates from the vaginas of healthy bitches did not vary during the various stages of the estrous cycle. Mycoplasmas were not detected in uterine samples.