Diagnosis of infectious abortion in domestic ruminants

Abstract

Abortion problems in a client’s herd will often prompt the veterinarian to seek the assistance of a veterinary diagnostic laboratory. The chances of obtaining an answer for the abortions are improved when there is good communication between the veterinarian and diagnostician which leads to appropriate sampling and test selection. A persistent effort in abortion diagnosis is warranted as many surveys find that a cause is determined in less than half of abortion submissions to diagnostic laboratories. The majority of diagnosed abortions are attributed to infections by a moderate number of bacterial, viral, fungal and protozoal agents. The pathology and other findings used in the laboratory diagnosis of the major infectious agents causing abortion in the cattle, sheep and goats will be discussed.