MVSc

The present study was undertaken on infertile cows with uterine infections, with the objective to evaluate the beneficial effect of intra – uterine infusion of homologous plasma as a non antibiotic alternate therapy for bovine endometritis. The luminal secretions of cows with clinical endometritis allotted to group 1 (n = 13) and 11 (n = 10) were aseptically collected at the time of oestrum and subjected to plate count to assess the uterine bacterial load prior to treatment. Cows belonging to group 1 were given 25 to 35 ml of homologous plasma as intra – uterine infusion on the day of oestrum whereas in control group (group 11) the cows were given 25 to 35 ml of sterile normal saline as intra – uterine infusion.
Luminal secretions of all the cows were collected aseptically at the succeeding oestrus following treatment and the uterine bacterial load was estimated. Cows which showed recovery in terms of clinic – gynaecological findings were bred artificially.
Following plasma therapy definite improvement as evidenced by clear uterine discharge, higher uterine tone and intensity of oestrum was noticed in the treatment group. These changes were not pronounced in the control group. The mean uterine bacterial load showed reduction after intra – uterine treatment in both group 1 and 11, however the reduction was statistically insignificant. The mean duration from intra – uterine treatment to succeeding oestrus was prolonged in group 1 (28.23 + 4.67 d) as against normal in group 11 (20.3 + 0.4 d). The first insemination conception rate recorded in group 1 was 53.85 per cent as against 40 per cent in group 11 showing that there was definite improvement was in conception rate following plasma treatment.
Repeat breeder cows with subclinical first degree endometritis allotted to group 111 were administered 25 to 35ml homologous plasma 24 h after insemination whereas repeat breeders (group IV) were left untreated following insemination. The mean conception rate for group 111 was 36.36 as against 20 per cent for group IV. This result also signifies the beneficial effect of plasma treatment in improving conception rate of repeat breeders.
An in vitro test to study the antibacterial effect of plasma was carried out by measuring the reduction in turbidity of a bacterial suspension on addition of plasma. It was found that the reduction in turbidity was significant (P < 0.05) in plasma tubes compared to saline tubes. Maximum reduction had occurred within 0 to 1 h interval in plasma tubes. This indicated an immediate antibacterial effect of plasma
It could be inferred from the above findings that homologous plasma drawn from the cow at the time of oestrum has significant bactericidal and bacteriostatic properties and when infused into the uterus of cows affected with endometritis helps in quicker clinical recovery and better conception rate. Post insemination plasma infusion into the uterus also improved conception rate in repeat breeders. Hence plasma treatment is recommended as an effective less expensive and non antibiotic alternate therapy for endometritis and repeat breeding in cows.