Fact Sheet No. L ivestock Ser ies|Management

cattle is a devastating disease for cattle producers. When diagnosed in a herd, it causes economic loss and emotional pain. “Trich is no treat! ” There is no treatment for Trichomoniasis infection. This discussion focuses on prevention. The foundation of building a prevention program for your herd is testing all the bulls that will have exposure to your cows. In today’s world of ever increasing input costs, producers are looking for ways to cut expenses. The following information will not only encourage beef producers to continue testing for Trichomoniasis, but will also encourage those who do not test to include it in their herd health management program. Background A protozoan organism, Trichomonas foetus (Tritrichomonas foetus), is the etiological cause of trichomoniasis. This organism lives in the reproductive tract of the cow and in the sheath of the bull’s penis. The primary mode of transmission is from sexual contact during the act of a bull breeding a cow. When a cow becomes infected, the following can happen. • Trichomonas foetus infection can cause the cow to be infertile and she continues to cycle until she builds up immunity. (Immunity is usually short-lived and the cow can become re-infected.) • The cow can become pregnant but then early in the pregnancy, she aborts and comes back into heat. • The cow can carry the fetus to full term, can remain infected, and shed the infective Trichomoniasis protozoan after calving