Cattle producers work hard to avoid BVD and respiratory disease, but trichomoniasis can cost a lot more than treatments for these issues, often cutting the calf crop by half or more, if not corralled. Trich is caused by a tiny protozoan parasite, Tritrichomonas foetus. In cows. The parasite colonizes in the vagina and uterus. In bulls, it colonizes or lives in epithelial folds on the skin of the penis and prepuce. In common terms, trich is a venereal disease.
Source: Beef, March 8, 2018.
The economic considerations of trichomoniasis are huge,” John Davidson, DVM, says. “They center around lost pregnancies as well as regulatory efforts that require infected animals to go to slaughter. Producers get packer prices for your valuable seedstock and exposed females are culled. For a cow-calf producer, there’s not another disease that comes close to the economic impact of trich.”
INSIGHTS: Boehringer-Ingelheim offers links to state-by-state regulations to help veterinarians and producers stay up to date on managing trichomoniasis.