Latest CEM News

3 More Positive Stallions; Frozen Semen Implication; USDA to Raise
Permit Charges

Three more stallions have tested positive for presence of Taylorella
equigenitalis. Two are located in Illinois at the same facility as the
stallion previously identified as positive in that State. All three
stallions at that facility had also been collected at the same facility
as the previously identified fourth positive Wisconsin stallion during
the breeding seasons 2004-2007. The third newly identified positive
stallion is located in Wisconsin – the sixth to test positive in that
State – and is a Thoroughbred that had semen collected several times
between 2004 and 2008 at the same facility as the fifth positive
stallion in Wisconsin.

USDA have confirmed that a mare bred in Illinois (located at the same
farm as the positive stallions in that State) was bred with frozen semen
from one of the positive stallions. It does therefore appear that
cooling or freezing does not destroy T. equigenitalis although further
research is definitely warranted in this regard in view of the
possibility – remote though it be – of cross-contamination from one of
the positive stallions located on that farm. With only 5 mares positive
out of hundreds that have been bred to positive stallions – thankfully
most of those hundreds of breedings were performed by AI – it does seem
that the incidence of transmission through the use of on-farm AI or
transported semen is significantly reduced. It is fortunate that until
now the Thoroughbred industry has not been involved. With the first
positive Thoroughbred, and the awareness that the bacteria is very
effectively transmitted through live cover (but not effectively, as
demonstrated, by AI) it would seem that it may be time for the
Thoroughbred industry to seriously reconsider the archaic requirement of
“Live Cover Only” for the production of registrable Thoroughbred foals.
The last major US outbreak of the the late 1970′s cost the Thoroughbred
industry an estimated US$1 million per day. It is ironic that this
current outbreak was identified as a result of routine testing of a
stallion that was having frozen semen exported. Had the index stallion
been a Thoroughbred, as there is no allowance for frozen semen use in
that breed and therefore semen freezing would have been unlikely, the
issue would not have been identified in that manner!

The current charge of $51 for USDA endorsement of the “Zoosanitary
Export Certificate for Semen” – the form issued in the USA that is
required to accompany semen being exported to Canada – is to be
increased (along with a variety of other USDA charges) to $72 on April
29th 2009. This is the first increase in USDA charges for several years.
*04/16/2009*

Regards to all,

Jos Mottershead
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