Vorkommen von Deckinfektionen und klinisch relevanten, bedingt genitalpathogenen Bakterien bei österreichischen Norikerhengsten

In the present study, the prevalence of venereal transmissible diseases (equine coital exanthema [ECE], equine viral arteritis, contagious equine metritis [CEM]) and potentially pathogenic bacteria was investigated in Austrian Noriker draught horse stallions. The study was performed outside the breeding season in 139 clinically healthy stallions licensed for breeding in Austria. The stallions were examined for serum antibodies to equine herpesvirus type 3 (EHV-3, the causative agent for ECE) and equine arteritis virus, and penile swabs were cultured for potentially pathogenic bacteria. The presence of Taylorella equigenitalis, the organism causing CEM, was investigated by culture and PCR. No clinical signs of ECE could be seen in any of the stallions, nevertheless in 27.3 % of them, serum antibodies to EHV-3 were found. The percentage of seropositive stallions was increasing with age. In 23.7 % of stallions, antibodies to EAV were detected, with a significantly higher percentage of seropositive animals in the western parts of Austria (federal states of Tyrolia and Vorarlberg). Genital swabs of one stallion were found to be positive for Taylorella equigenitalis (by PCR only), in the other 138 animals Taylorella equigenitalis could not be detected. In genital swabs of 20. 1 % of stallions, β-haemolytic streptococci could be cultured; 3.6, 12.2 and 56.0 % of the animals were found positive for Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and haemolytic staphylococci, respectively. Detection of these bacteria was neither influenced by age of the stallion nor by the region where the animals were located. In contrast, the detection rate of Escherichia coli and Rhodococcus equi was significantly influenced by the location of the animals. The prevalence of venereal transmissible infections in Austrian Noriker draught horse stallions differed for the infectious agents: while an unusual high seroprevalence was identified for EHV-3, the seroprevalence for EAV was -compared with international data - on average, and the aetiologic agent of CEM could rarely be detected in healthy animals. On the other hand, potentially pathogenic bacteria were isolated at a high percentage from the genitalia of the stallions, indicating a risk of endometritis in mares bred to these stallions.