Characterization of reproductive disorders in ewes given an intrauterine dose of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites during the intrauterine insemination

Abstract The aim of this study was to characterize the reproductive disorders in the acute and chronic phases in ewes experimentally infected with different doses of Toxoplasma gondii during artificial insemination occurred. Animals ( n  = 41) were divided into three experimental groups: in the group 1 (G1, n  = 15), animals were inseminated using contaminated semen containing 6.5 × 10 4 tachyzoites; in the group 2 (G2, n  = 15), animals were inseminated with contaminated semen containing 4 × 10 7 tachyzoites and in the group 3 (G3, n  = 11), animals were inseminated using tachyzoite-free semen, serving as control group. Parasitemia and seroconversion were observed in 28 of 30 and 20 of 30, respectively, from the seventh day after infection. Embryonic reabsorption was observed in the acute phase in ewes from G1 and G2. Persistent anestrus, hydrometra, mucometra and follicular cysts were observed in the second phase of the experiment in animals from G1 and G2. Histopathological lesions similar to those of toxoplasmosis were found in the placentas. In conclusion, artificial insemination using semen containing experimentally added tachyzoites can establish toxoplasmosis in ewes and cause reproductive pathologies during the acute and chronic phases of the disease.