Testing for trichomoniasis.

Keeping trichomoniasis out of cattle herds

Prevention and early detection are vital to managing this disease

Trichomoniasis is a disease that can sneak into a herd without any obvious signs. This sexually transmitted disease is caused by protozoa that inhabit the cow’s reproductive tract and the bull’s sheath. It doesn’t affect a bull’s fertility rate, but a bull can spread the disease to many cows during breeding. An infected cow can […] Read more

An aborted calf fetus

Why is she open?

Not all pregnancy losses are due to infection

After a cow is bred, she should calve about 283 days later. But sometimes the pregnancy is terminated early and when you go hunting for a reason you’ll discover they are many causes for a lost pregnancy. Most of the time when there’s a poor pregnancy rate in a herd we suspect infectious causes like […] Read more


Better tests for trich and vibrio

Research on the Record

Trichomoniasis (trich, or “trick”) and bovine genital campylobacteriosis (vibrio) are venereal diseases that cause early embryonic death, repeat breeding, large numbers of open cows at the end of the breeding season, an extended calving season, and enormous economic losses. The microbes that cause trich and vibrio live in the reproductive tracts of infected cattle, but […] Read more

Trichomoniasis is still a threat

Cases on the rise, but control programs, testing and good management practices help limit disease spread

Trichomoniasis, abbreviated “trich” and pronounced “trick,” is a highly contagious venereal disease that can result in large numbers of open cows. While it is certainly not a new disease threat, the prevalence has increased dramatically in recent years across the northern tier of the U.S. and gradually edged its way onto ranches in Canada. Venereal […] Read more