How does placentitis affect the foal?
How does placentitis affect the foal?
Abstract. Ascending placentitis is a condition that occurs late in pregnancy when bacteria enter the sterile uterus from the lower reproductive tract. It leads to abortion or the birth of premature and weakened foals. Early detection and treatment of this condition is vital for ensuring the production of a viable foal.
How do you treat placentitis in mare?
They can be treated with appropriate antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and progestagens to help maintain the pregnancy however, the foal is usually born premature, under-developed, and often septic. Some mare suffering from placentitis show no external signs and simply deliver a premature or dead foal.
How is placentitis treated in horses?
Therefore, therapies are directed at resolving microbial invasion, decreasing inflammation and uterine contractions. Systemic treatment can include antibiotics, exogenous progestagens, anti-inflammatories, tocolytic agents (decrease uterine contraction) and medications that improve uterine perfusion.
What is placentitis in a horse?
Placentitis is an inflammation of the placenta usually caused by an infectious agent. It has emerged as a leading cause of reproductive loss in the equine breeding industry, with considerable economic impact when a pregnancy ends in abortion or the birth of a small, ill-thrift foal.
What causes placentitis in horses?
A major cause of placentitis is due to bacterial or fungal infection that enters via the vagina and breaches the cervical barrier, a process known as ascending placentitis. Aspiration of air and faeces into the vagina can occur in mares with poor conformation or injury to the cervix or vulvar opening .
How early is too early for a mare to bag up?
Bagging up can occur anywhere from around 6 weeks prior to foaling to just days before foaling, but it is a good time to begin watching the mare. They will also form a wax-like substance on the ends of their teats, called “waxing up”, within a few days of when they will foal.
What is Nocardioform placentitis?
Nocardioform placentitis (NP) is defined as a focal mucoid placental inflammation in which the bacterial infection is limited to the chorionic surface of the ventral placenta without infection of the fetus [1, 2].
How do I know if my mare has placentitis?
The outward clinical signs that may be seen in a mare with placentitis are white, mucoid vulvar discharge and premature udder development (“early bagging up”).
What is the most common infectious cause of abortion in horses?
In the literature, bacterial infections are the most frequently described cause of abortion. Other important causes are infections with equine herpesvirus (EHV)-1 or -4, twin pregnancy and umbilical cord anomalies.
What causes placentitis in mares?
What causes placentitis?