Study Concerning the Prevalence of Ovarian Diseases in Dairy Cows from a Farm in North-Eastern Moldavia

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1 Study Concerning the Prevalence of Ovarian Diseases in Dairy Cows from a Farm in North-Eastern Moldavia Ioana Cristina CRIVEI 1*, Elena RUGINOSU 2, D. DRUGOCIU 1, P. ROŞCA 1, S.I. BORŞ 2, D. L. DASCĂLU 2* 1 Department of Clinics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, M.Sadoveanu Street, No. 8, Iaşi 2 Research and Development Station for Cattle Breeding Dancu - IASI SCDCB Holboca village, No. 9 Sos. Iasi-Ungheni. Corresponding author: i.crivei@uaiasi.ro Bulletin UASVM Veterinary Medicine 72(1) / 2015, Print ISSN ; Electronic ISSN DOI: /buasvmcn-vm: Abstract The study was performed inside a dairy cows farm in North-Eastern Moldavia, over a period of 4 consecutive years ( ), on a number of 1153 Romanian Black Spotted cows in order to determine the prevalence of different ovarian diseases by year, season and lactation number. Evaluation of ovarian diseases prevalence was based on data gathered from gynaecological cows records which were took as reference. The results showed different pathological entity variation. Thus, 27.84% of the animals taken into study presented ovarian diseases, of which 13.53% are represented by persistent corpus luteum, followed by ovarian hypofunction (7.98%) and a value of 6.33% which was recorded for cystic ovarian disease. From the recorded data analysis, it has been concluded that from the total number of ovarian diseases taken into study, the highest prevalence was registered for persistent corpus luteum (48.6%), followed by ovarian hypofunction (28.66%) and cystic ovarian disease (22.74%). In relation to the different influence factors, ovarian diseases prevalence in dairy cows showed variations depending on the year of study, with mean values ranging from 20.56% (2012) to 30.22% (2010). In conclusion it is considered that the prevalence of ovarian diseases in dairy cows is recording some peak values during the cold season because of the winter feeding (high proportion of silage), lack of physical exercise and protein-rich diets for increasing the milk yield. Also, prolonged period of uterine involution (uterine subinvolution) makes the secretion of luteolytic hormone (PGF 2α ) to be lowered in detriment of PGE2. luteum Keywords: cystic ovarian disease, ovarian diseases, ovarian hypofunction, prevalence, persistent corpus INTRODUCTION Berardinelli (2007), described postpartum anoestrus as a condition that occurs after parturition where postpartum cows fail to exhibit oestrus and ovulate. This condition allows the cows to anatomically and physiologically recuperate from pregnancy and parturition. The anoestrus condition is associated with the presence of inactive ovaries, and even there is follicular development, none of the growing follicles become mature enough to ovulate (Montiel and Ahuja, 2005). Anoestrus was broadly classified into physiologic and pathologic (clinical) types, with the following representing the pathologic type: 1) inactive ovaries; 2) silent ovulation; 3) ovarian hypofunction; 4) cystic ovarian disease; 5) persistent CL (Mwaanga E.S. and col. 2000). Anoestrus caused by ovarian causes is due to a persistent corpus luteum, cystic ovarian diseases or ovarian hypofunction. Cows with a follicular structure larger than 20 mm in diameter (McNutt 1927) detected in either or both ovaries in two ultrasonographic

2 80 CRIVEI et al examinations performed at 7-day intervals and in the absence of a corpus luteum and uterine tone were recorded as cows suffering from cystic ovarian disease. A cow was considered to suffer ovarian hypofunction when a follicular structure of at least 8 15 mm was detected in two consecutive examinations, in the absence of a corpus luteum or cyst and no oestrus signs were noted during the 7-day period between the examinations (López- Gatius et al.2001). In this article, the main purpose is to bring new informations regarding the prevalence of different types of anoestrous in dairy cows (corpus luteum, cystic ovarian diseases, ovarian hypofunction), from a temperate continental region (North- Eastern of Romania). MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was performed on 1153 Romanian Black Spotted cattle from a dairy cows farm in the North-East of Romania, over a period of 4 consecutive years ( ). In , the cows were housed in a free stall housing system during summer time and a tied stall housing system during the cold season. During the following period of , the dairy cows were housed in a free stall housing system for the entire period. The animal s feeding was identical both in winter and summer, excepting that during the summer time the hay of the unique mixture was replaced with green forage. All the data about animals under study was recorded from the official register of the dairy farm, over a period of 4 consecutive years ( ) and we tried to determine the prevalence (is a statistical concept referring to the number of cases of a disease in a given time period/total number of the population in that timeframe) of these three types of anoestrus taken under study. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS The analysis of the recorded data within this study indicates a variation of the different types of anoestrus in relation with the year (Fig.1), with the season (Fig.2, 3, 4) and the number of lactation (Fig.5, 6, 7). In this study, 27.84% of the total monitored cows presented ovarian diseases that evolved into pathological anoestrus. Thus, 13.53% of the total animals taken under study, presented persistent corpus luteum, followed by ovarian hypofunction (7.98%) and cystic ovarian disease, in a proportion of 6.33% (Tab. 1). From the total number of animals taken under study (1153) over a 4 consecutive years period ( ), 27.84%, n=321 cows presented ovarian diseases. The highest prevalence was recorded for persistent corpus luteum (48.6%, n=165), followed by ovarian hypofunction Tab. 1. The prevalence of Ovarian Diseases from the total monitored cows ( ) Total ovarian diseases Cystic ovarian disease Ovarian hypofunction Corpus luteum No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Tab. 2. The prevalence of Ovarian Diseases depending on their type ( ) Ovarian Disease No. of Ovarian Diseases Persistent Corpus Luteum Ovarian Hypofunction Cystic Ovarian Disease Total

3 Study Concerning the Prevalence of Ovarian Diseases in Dairy Cows from a Farm in Moldavi 81 (28.66%, n=92) and cystic ovarian disease (22.74%, n=73) (Tab. 2). Within the total ovarian diseases recorded over a 4 years of study (321 cases), the prevalence of these disorders showed some variations: in 2010 the prevalence recorded a value of 30.22%, followed by similar values in 2011 (24.92%), 2013 (24.30%) and a value of 20.56% in 2012 (Fig.1). By analysing the prevalence of persistent corpus luteum in relation to the calving season, two maximum levels of this affection were noticed during winter (29.49%), spring (32.69%) and a minimum level during the summer season (17.31%) (Fig.2). In our study, ovarian hypofunction reached the highest point during winter season (32.61%), an equal value of 27.17% during summer-autumn seasons and the lowest values were recorded during spring season (13.04%) (Fig.2). Yániz J. and col. 2008, presented that ovarian hypofunction has a clear seasonal distribution characterized by a higher frequency during the warm season (May September), but according to other authors (Berger 1986; Zdunczyk and col., 1992), high values of ovarian hypofunction were also recorded during winter and this depends on the winter feeding (high proportion of silage). Of the total ovarian diseases recorded for the 4 years of study, the prevalence of cystic ovarian disease presented variations between a minimum value during autumn-winter seasons (19.18%) and a maximum value during spring season (35.62%). During summer season, the prevalence of cystic ovarian disease recorded a value of 26.03% (Fig.4). The occurrence of cystic ovarian disease in the cold months of the year can be attributed to the lack of physical exercise and protein-rich diets for increasing the milk yield; however, the photoperiod does not have any impact on the hypothalamic function that could also predispose cows to developing cystic ovarian disease. Tab. 3. The Prevalence of Persistent Corpus Luteum in cows According to Season ( ) Fig. 1. The Prevalence of Ovarian Diseases during Season No. of persistent corpus luteum Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total Fig. 2. The Prevalence of Persistent Corpus Luteum in cows According to Season ( )

4 82 CRIVEI et al Other authors found a high prevalence of cystic ovarian diseases during summertime and this was explained through the high environmental temperature, which reduces the intensity of the oestral behaviour (Orihuella, 2000; De Rensis Tab. 4. The Prevalence of Ovarian Hypofunction in cows According to Season ( ) Season No. of ovarian hypofunction Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total and Scaramuzzi, 2003) and increases the amount of ovulations unaccompanied by signs of oestrus (Rodtian and col., 1996). In our study, the high value of cystic ovarian disease from spring season can be attributed to Tab. 5. The Prevalence of Cystic Ovarian Disease in cows According To Season ( ) Season No. of cystic ovarian disease Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total Fig. 3. The Prevalence of Ovarian Hypofunction in cows According to Season ( ) Fig. 4. The Prevalence of Cystic Ovarian Disease in cows According To Season ( )

5 Study Concerning the Prevalence of Ovarian Diseases in Dairy Cows from a Farm in Moldavi 83 the fact that the cow comes after a winter season, the animal presents weakness because of the dry forage with lack of vitamin and minerals and during the spring time the nutrition is still based on dry forage, unlike the summer time, when the nutrition is based on green forage. From all cases of persistent corpus luteum recorded in our study, the highest prevalence of this disease was recorded at 1 st lactation (45.5%, n=71). From the 2 nd lactation (28.2%, n=44) we observed that the prevalence had a decreasing trend for this disease at dairy cows at the 3 rd lactation (15.4%, n=24), until the 5 th lactation where is observed a prevalence of 1.3%, n= 2 (Fig.5). ( ) Persistent corpus luteum had a high prevalence in cows at 1 st lactation, because of the prolonged period of uterine involution (uterine subinvolution), which makes the secretion of luteolytic hormone (PGF 2α ) to be lowered, in detriment of PGE2, which has a luteinizing role. In addition to abnormal uterine PGF 2α secretion (Mateus L. and col., 2003), infla mmatory-mediated secretion of PGE, which is luteotrophic (Rekawiecki R. and col., 2005), might be responsible for prolonged luteal function. Therefore, a prolonged peripheral increase in PGE is not a likely mechanism of luteal persistence. Nonetheless, endometritis causes an increase in PGE concentration in uterine fluid of cows (Mateus L. and col., 2003), and endometrial epithelial cells exposed to endotoxin undergo an endocrine switch from luteolytic PGF 2α to luteotropic PGE (Herath S. and col., 2009). Increased PGE concentrations in uterine fluid cause luteal persistence in cows (Thibodeaux J.K. and col., 1992), suggesting that in cows with metritis this prostaglandin plays a local role in the pathogenesis of persistent CL. From all the recorded ovarian diseases, ovarian hypofunction presented a maximum prevalence at the 1 st lactation (48.91%, n=45), followed by an obvious decrease, reaching a value of 33.70%, n=31 during the 2 nd lactation. At the 3 rd and 4 th lactation, the prevalence of ovarian hypofunction decreased to values between 6.52%, n=6 and 7.61%, n=7, to reach the lowered point at the 5 th lactation and after the 5 th lactation (2.20%, Fig. 5. The Prevalence of Persistent Corpus Luteum according with the Lactation Number Fig. 6. The Prevalence of Ovarian Hypofunction compared with Lactation Number

6 84 CRIVEI et al Fig. 7. The Prevalence of Cystic Ovarian Disease compared with Lactation Number n=2 and 1.10%, n=1) (Fig.6). As an explanation, it is possible that the competition for space and the hierarchical status influence the capacity of the female to consume the feed, and may subsequently predispose to uterine and ovarian diseases (Hammon and col., 2006; Huzzey and col, 2007; Urton and col., 2005). ( ) In relation to the number of lactations, from the total of ovarian diseases during , the prevalence of cystic ovarian disease displays a high prevalence at the 1 st lactation (45.21%, n=33), moderate decreases until the 3 rd one, and starting with the 4 th lactation, the prevalence diminishes significantly, recording values of 1.4%, n=1 in cows at the 5 th lactation and 4.1%, n=3 in cows with over 5 lactations (Fig. 7). ( ) Similar results regarding high prevalence of ovarian diseases in 1 st lactation have been reported by other authors (RUGINOSU Elena 1999). It is acknowledged that there is a correlation between high milk production and increased frequency of cystic ovarian disease and that genetically selected cows for milk production will be more likely to develop ovarian cysts more frequently in their lifetime ( Brito and Palmer, 2004; Fleischer and col., 2001). The researchers hypothesized that a possible explanation for the direct correlation between high milk yield and increased incidence of cystic ovarian disease is that cows in early lactation, which are trying to meet the increased requirements for milk production, are more susceptible to environmental changes with hormonal implications as a result (Hooijer et al., 2001). Positive correlations were found between high milk production and high prevalence of cystic ovarian disease, appearing more frequently in specialized dairy cows during early lactation. Thus, a great amount of energy is dedicated to milk production, besides the fundamental requirements of the organism, therefore raising the vulnerability to endocrine and metabolic disorders. Concerning the occurrence of metabolic disorders, it has been suggested that resistance to insulin and hyperinsulinemia play no role in the aetiology of cystic ovarian disease in cows (Opsomer and col., 1999). CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Within all diagnosed ovarian diseases, the highest prevalence of them was observed in cows at 1 st lactation. According with the evolution of lactations number there was observed a prevalence decrease of the diagnosed ovarian diseases in different anoestrus forms. The prevalence of different types of anoestrus has presented seasonal variations from case to case, depending on different types of considered anoestrus. During the monitoring program of dairy cows breeding activity, a special attention must be given to cows in 1 st lactation, which present a big susceptibility to manifest different types of anoestrus, compared to other females in the 2 nd or many more lactations. REFERENCES 1. Berardinelli J (2007). Management Practices to Overcome Problems with Puberty and Anestrus. Proceedings Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle, Billings, MT. 2. Berger G (1986). Incidence of ovarian dystrophia in cowtherapy. Mh Ved Med 41:

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