EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION OF CATTLE WITH A FELINE ISOLATE OF TRITRICHOMONAS FOETUS

Tritrichomonas foetus is the causative agent of bovine trichomoniasis, a sexually transmitted disease in cattle that can result in large profit losses for cattle producers. Increasing reports have suggested that T. foetus is also the causative agent of large-bowel diarrhea in cats. To determine if the trichomonads recovered from the reproductive tract of cattle and the large intestine of cats can thrive in the same host, 2 groups of virgin Angus heifers were inoculated with T. foetus. The first group of heifers was inoculated with a bovine T. foetus isolate cultured from a naturally infected cow, and heifers in the second group were inoculated with T. foetus organisms cultured from the feces of a naturally infected cat. Over an 11-wk period, vaginal, cervical, and uterine mucus samples were analyzed, along with a single transcervical uterine biopsy sample, to determine organism and disease presence. The mucus and biopsy samples collected from each group indicate that the disease caused by feline and bovin...