Prevalence, Etiology and Risk Factors Associated With Chronic Metritis in Small Ruminants in Adamawa Region (Cameroon)

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence, etiology and risk factors of chronic metritis in female small ruminants slaughtered at the Bantaï slaughterhouse. A total of three hundred and ninety (390) non-gravid females were characterized, their uterus were collected and examined. Clinical endometritis and pyometra were diagnosed. For subclinical endometritis, the presence of an inflammatory state of the endometrium in the absence of abnormal secretions in the vagina and the anatomopathological examination of histological sections from the cervix, body and horn of the uterus to confirm the diagnosis were used. Uteri with clinical endometritis or pyometra were subjected to microbiological sampling to detect the bacterial species involved. An overall prevalence of 16.15% was recorded, with prevalences of 11.02%, 3.07% and 2.05% corresponding to clinical, subclinical and pyometrial endometritis respectively. In positive females, the bacterial species Salmonella spp, Shigella spp, Non-pathogenic E.coli, Pathogenic E. coli, Campylobacter spp, D Streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aeromonas hydrophila, Salmonella cholerae arizonae, Proteus spp or Provendencia spp, Citrobacter koseri and Vibrio fluvialis were isolated. Body condition score (BCS) was found to be the main risk factor in the occurrence of chronic metritis while factors such as species, age and weight were found to be at risk for subclinical endometritis and pyometra. The origin of the animals was significantly associated with the average number of co-infesting bacteria. In conclusion chronic metritis is present in the goat and sheep populations of Adamawa region.