Before you begin thinking about breeding season, and as it is now calving time for many producers, I thought the following article by Dr. John Maas, Extension Veterinarian at UC Davis, would be a good summary of a disease that can negatively impact the reproductive performance of your cow herd. He prepared this article using current information obtained from Dr. Bob BonDurant, a UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine researcher. It is a disease of cattle that causes infertility, open cows, and occasional abortions in cows and heifers.
Trichomoniasis can also be costly to eradicate from a herd.
A protozoan, called Tritrichomonas foetus is the microbe that causes this condition. It is similar to, but not the same as, a venereal organism in humans called Trichomonas vaginalis. The cattle organism lives in the microscopic folds of the skin that line the bull s penis and internal sheath. As the bull gets older, this skin grows and folds more and more, creating additional places where the organism can thrive. In the cow or heifer, the organism lives in the cavity of the vagina and uterus until her immune system eventually destroys it.