Differential diagnosis of infectious reproductive diseases in sheep flocks of Mato Grosso State, Brazil

Infectious epididymitis is a reproductive disease of great sanitary and economic importance to the sheep industry. This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of infectious epididymitis in the State of Mato Grosso (Brazil), and to identify the causative agents including: Brucella ovis, Actinobacillus seminis, and Histophilus somni. Antibodies anti-B. ovis were detected in 31.6% (152/480) of sheep, including rams (n = 83), by AGID and ELISA. Clinical changes, inflammatory cells in the semen and/or azoospermia were observed in 77.1% (64/83) of rams, and detection of B. ovis, A. seminis, and H. somni in urine and semen samples was associated with evidences of genital inflammation in some cases. These data demonstrated the presence of B. ovis, A. seminis and/or H. somni involved in reproductive tract infection in sheep flocks of Mato Grosso.