Evidence of torovirus infection in diarrhoeic cattle

Survey of bovine caesarean sections in Ireland POSTAL questionnaires were circulated in 1993 to find out how many Caesarian sections were carried out in cattle in Ireland by 1170 veterinary surgeons; 381 (32.6 per cent) provided useful replies. They attended an estimated total of 60,195 calvings per year, of which approximately 17 per cent were Caesarean sec- tions. Virtually all the operations were done because there was a mismatch between the size of the calf and the size of the dam, either fetal oversize in 76 per cent of the cases or maternal under- size in 22 per cent. Peritonitis and shock accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the mortalities associated with the operation. The effects on the fertility of the cow were very variable, with a mean (sd) of 62-5 (19-3) becoming pregnant again. VAUGHAN, L. & MULVILLE, P. (1995) Irish Veterinary Journal 48,411 285